Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has broken with the Court majority on opinions and orders more than any other justice this term.
Experts told Newsweek why they think that is.
Why It Matters
The Supreme Court currently has a 6-3 majority of conservative justices. Despite the supermajority, the liberal justices have statistically sided with the majority more often than Thomas, who is among the Court’s conservatives.
What To Know
The Court has issued 17 opinions for term year 2024 so far. The term began in October of last year and will end in October of this year. Thomas dissented in four of those cases.
Justice Neil Gorsuch dissented to three opinions in full and one in part. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented on three opinions.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented on two opinions, while Justice Elena Kagan dissented on one. Justice Amy Coney Barret dissented once in full and twice in part. Justice Samuel Alito dissented once in full and once in part.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh have yet to break with the Court majority on an opinion this term.
Thomas has also broken with the court on orders 15 times this term.
Stephen Wermiel is a professor of practice in constitutional law and part of the program on law and government at American University Washington College of Law. One of his areas of specialization is the Supreme Court. Wermiel explained Thomas’ history of dissenting opinions to Newsweek.
“Justice Thomas has long written more dissenting and concurring opinions than just about anyone else on the Court,” Wermiel said. “Last term, he was tied for the most of both dissenting and concurring opinions. He has his own views of the Constitution and federal laws, and he has never been shy about putting them out there whenever the spirit moves him.”
Michael Gerhardt is the Burton Craige Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of North Carolina. His areas of expertise include the Supreme Court. Gerhardt told Newsweek that it is “not surprising” that Thomas has broken from the court majority the most.
“I think this has been true for some time. It is because he takes the most extreme positions contrary to settled constitutional law,” Gerhardt said. “He challenges precedent more extensively than any other Justice.”
Many of Thomas’ dissents express a desire to revisit legal precedents, including his recent dissents to Ronald Hittle v. City of Stockton and Ryan G. Carter v. United States.
Wermiel also acknowledged Thomas’ interest in overruling legal precedents.
“Thomas has long spelled out an agenda of established doctrines that he would overrule; he is not the least bit shy about having a list,” Wermiel said.
Wermiel said the Court is “unmistakably” conservative, but there is collaboration among the justices.
“Unbeknownst to many people, the Supreme Court decides a fair number of unanimous decisions – obviously not the most high-profile cases, but they are a factor,” Wermiel said.
Out of the Court’s 17 opinions this term, 10 have been unanimously decided.
What People Are Saying
Gerhardt, in comments to Newsweek: “I think Justice Thomas’s jurisprudence comes closer than any other justice’s to being nearly a rubber stamp for Republican presidents and Republican legislation. While he claims originalism as his basis for doing so, he often neglects honest originalism when it stands between him and the outcome he needs to reach.”
Wermiel, in comments to Newsweek: “He dissents for different reasons. Often they are cases the Court is refusing to consider. Sometimes he’ll see an issue on which the Court is going to pass, but he thinks it is important and should be settled now (Speech First v. Whitten). Sometimes he thinks the lower courts are getting it wrong and confused (Hittle v. City of Stockton) and should be corrected.”
What To Know
The Supreme Court’s term will continue until October 5.
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