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Articles on Clarence Thomas

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Lawyers write too much. That’s why the Supreme Court and other U.S. courts impose word limits on them. siraanamwong/ iStock / Getty Images Plus

Supreme Court word-count limits for lawyers, explained in 1,026 words

Lawyers submitting briefs to the Supreme Court in the Trump Colorado ballot case must file a ‘certificate of word count.’ Why? As one judge put it, lawyers’ briefs are ‘too long, too long, too long.’
The Supreme Court issued a decision on June 29, 2023, that ends affirmative action in college admissions. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A 2003 Supreme Court decision upholding affirmative action planted the seeds of its overturning, as justices then and now thought racism an easily solved problem

The Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate affirmative action programs sent shock waves across the US and is expected to impact racial diversity throughout society.
Activists call for ethics reform in the Supreme Court at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on May 2, 2023. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Judging the judges: Scandals have the potential to affect the legitimacy of judges – and possibly the federal judiciary, too

Courts have no army or police force to enforce their decisions. Their power rests on their legitimacy in the public eye. How does scandal affect that?
Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas speaks at the Heritage Foundation in 2021. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A diverse Supreme Court grapples with affirmative action, with its justices of color split sharply on the meaning of ‘equal protection’

Most Americans believe that racial inequality is a significant problem. They also believe that affirmative action programs aimed at reducing those inequalities are a problematic tool.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at the White House on Oct. 26, 2020. Jonathan Newton /The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife have bolstered conservative causes as he is poised to lead the Supreme Court rolling back more landmark rulings

Black conservative Clarence Thomas’ improbable rise as a powerful US Supreme Court justice today was unimaginable during his controversial confirmation hearings in 1991.
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen behind security fencing on June 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Can Americans be shielded from the U.S. Supreme Court?

The combination of crumbling democratic norms in the U.S. Supreme Court appointments process and an ideological court out of step with mainstream America raises questions of how it could be reformed.
Lifetime tenure has pushed the average age of judicial nominees down as presidents appoint younger justices in hopes they will serve for many decades. Erin Schaff/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Should the Supreme Court have term limits?

Unlike in most countries, US Supreme Court justices enjoy life tenure. Some legal scholars believe that centuries-old custom, meant to protect judicial independence, no longer serves the public.
People gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court building as news spread of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Sept. 18 death. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

3 ways a 6-3 Supreme Court would be different

A 6-3 conservative court will hear a broader range of controversial cases, shift interpretations of individual rights and put more pressure on local democracy to make policy decisions.
Some U.S. service members may now collect damages for medical malpractice. Shutterstock/Christopher Lyzcen

Congress fixes – just a bit – the unpopular, ‘unfair’ rule that stopped injured service members from suing for damages

For more than half a century, service members who got hurt while on active duty but not in combat – like being hit by a jeep while on base – could never sue for damages. That’s now changed – a bit.

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