"Anyway… Thomas is saying that if he doesn’t like where the “train” of stare decisis is leading him, he can just get off and go in a different direction. Remember, Thomas’s war against the 20th century can’t achieve victory if old Supreme Court opinions have weight. In place of stare decisis, Thomas offers this invented framework: that “the precedent should be respectful of our legal tradition, and our country, and our laws, and be based on something, not just something somebody dreamt up and others went along with.” The problem is: The question of which precedents are “respectful of our legal tradition, our country, and our laws” can quickly devolve into what Clarence Thomas thinks is “respectful” of those traditions or laws. It’s completely ungrounded from anything real or provable. It’s not even textual. “Respect” means whatever the hell Thomas wants it to mean, at any given time."
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Justices of the Supreme Court of the United StatesLawyers from the United StatesMemoirists from the United StatesCatholics from the United StatesAfrican Americans
Original Language: English
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Sources
Elie Mystal, Thomas Admits That He’s Coming for Our Rights", The Nation, 2 October 2025
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Clarence_Thomas
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Clarence Thomas
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