The Early Career Of Clarence Thomas

What does it take to become a Supreme Court Justice in the United States? It doesn’t matter what race you are; which neighborhood you grew up in or how much you have. From living in a predominately black town, and not know where his next meal is going to coming from, Clarence Thomas has proven that all barriers can be overcame. He was the second African American to serve on the court. Thomas served as a Judge on the “United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit” from 1990 to 1991. After Thurgood Marshall (the first African American to serve on the court) announced his retirement, President George W. Bush elected Thomas to become a candidate for the position. Clarence Thomas has been serving on the Supreme Court for twenty-six years.

From the age of nine Earl Warren has worked on a railroad crew to earn money to go to college. Warren attended Kern County high school. There he gained interest listening to cases in the Kern County courthouse. After high school, Warren attended UCB's School of law. He received his B.A. degree and his J.D. After college, Earl Warren served as a district attorney, then a state attorney general, as well as

The 14th Chief Justice of the U.S Supreme Court, Earl Warren changed the course the nation through landmark decisions that reflected progressive thinking. With Warren in charge, the Court brought about a significant amount of social change, rooted in establishing racial equality and protecting civil liberties. Despite being nominated on the basis of his conservative governorship, Earl Warren’s s nomination for Chief Justice gave him a new perspective, especially on crime. He now viewed the Court as a protector of the public, and with astounding leadership brought the Court to a consensus in many landmark decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Mapp v. Ohio (1961), and Gideon v. Wainwright (1963).

In the early years of the eighteenth Century, the young United States of America were slowly adapting to the union and the way the country was governed. And just like the country, the governmental powers were starting to develop. Since the creation of the Constitution and due to the Connecticut Compromise, there is the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial Power. But the existence of those powers was not always that naturally. In these crucial times, the Judicial Power had problems controlling the other powers. It was a challenge for the Supreme Court to exercise the powers granted by the new Constitution. Federal Government was not generally appreciated and

“Presidents come and go, but the Supreme Court goes on forever,” declared by past President William Howard Taft. Dated in 1789, the Judiciary Act by signed by Congress, which was demanded by the United States Constitution. This past principal court was ruled by a Chief Justice and five Associate Justices, accordingly today we still have a Chief Justice, but we currently have eight Associate Justices. The current Supreme Court has John G. Roberts, Jr. as Chief Justice, and the following are the current Associate Justices: Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr., Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. Clarence Thomas, a conservative, best known as the second

There were many qualifications that made Justice Alito suitable to become a Supreme Court Justice. After succeeding law school, Justice Alito became a clerk for Third Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Leonard I. Garth in 1976 and 1977 in Newark, New

Thurgood Marshall was significant as he was the first African-American to be appointed a position in the U.S Supreme Court, in 1967. His significance to civil rights is evident between 1947 and 1967, in one contemporary newspaper he was even referred to as “Mr Civil Rights”. In 1947-1961 Thurgood worked as the NAACP’s lawyer, where he argued his most famous cases – Brown v Topeka (1954) and Browder v Gayle (1956). Furthermore, the appointments by both, President John F. Kennedy and President Johnson, are significant in themselves because he was the first African-American to be appointed to the Supreme Court. Despite his influence on the civil rights movement, Thurgood took a lot of criticism which effected his attitudes towards other people involved with the civil rights movement and, in general.

Clarence Thomas is just the second African American justice to serve on the Supreme Court. Until the very recent confirmations of both Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, for the past twenty-five plus years, Thomas had been the last conservative to be named to the current court, which is the complete opposite of his predecessor Justice Thurgood Marshall. Thomas’ confirmation hearings have gone down in history as those containing the most drama. His hearings would produce such intense arguments over race and gender. Thomas is one of the most publicly criticized justices in the history of the Supreme Court. The primary reason for that is the "uncommon" connection between his views and the color of his skin. Many black and white

Thurgood Marshall is a man that went to court for colored kids and white kids to got to the same school. He went to court in October 1967 and won the trial in 1991.

A very intelligent strong-minded man argued this case in 1954. According to UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History, Thurgood Marshall was born on July 2, 1908. He was raised in a two

Judge Clarence Thomas desire to keep the laws the unchanged in Judicial Restraint can also be seen in his deciding votes in his past cases. In addition, to asking minimal questions Judge Thomas is stern in his reason to keep laws consistent. For example in the Supreme Court case Good News Club v. Milford Central School, Judge Thomas ruled in favor of the club and that the school district violated the First Amendment rights of free speech and gathering, even though it was religious. This shows his devotion to the constitution and his desire to not stray away from it. As a matter of fact, in his conservative vote of the case Gonzales v. Raich, Judge Thomas argued that when no direct connection could be made to commerce, congressional regulation

In 1991, President George H. W. Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to the U.S Supreme Court after the retirement of Thurgood Marshall. As America’s second African American Supreme Court judge, Thomas’ nomination was contentious from the start. Due to Thomas’ conservative political beliefs, many African American and Civil Rights organizations were opposed to Thomas’ appointment. The opposition was little until allegation from a University of Oklahoma law professor, Anita Hill, stirred up major controversy as she came forward with accusations about sexual harassment against Thomas (PBS NewsHour). Hill’s allegation and Thomas’ denial became a hot media topic that generated various responses to the controversy. Using the newspaper articles of the New York Times and a few course texts, I will analyze the hearings and reactions to the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas controversy about race, gender, and intersectionality.

Another associate justice is known as Sonia Sotomayor. Sonia graduated from Princeton University in 1976. Sotomayor went on to be an assistant District Attorney in the New York country district attorneys office. After Sotomayor spent time in the DA’s office, she was nominated in 2009 by President Barack

The main purpose of Thomas writing this book was to show his personal struggles, both internal and external, that shaped him into the Supreme Court justice that we see today. Clarence Thomas had a difficult childhood, having been abandoned by his father then subsequently given up to his grandparents by his mother, who was unable to raise him and his brother Myers. His grandfather, who he called "Daddy", was able to give the boys more material comfort than they had ever known while under the care of their mother, but also demanded much more out of them. Instead of being able to skip class and go on escapades around town, as they had been able to do in Pinpoint under the care of their mother, Daddy made sure that Clarence and Myers would be at school every day, sick or healthy. Thomas wrote, " [H]e warned us that if we died, he 'd take our bodies to school for three days to make sure we weren 't faking, and we figured he meant it" (Page 15). On top of making sure that the boys would get a proper, consistent education, Daddy made Clarence and Myers ride along with him while he delivered fuel oil during the winter to hi customers. The second year that they had been living under the rule of their grandparents, Daddy had bought a brand-new GMC truck, then took the heater out of it, saying that there was no sense in keeping the cab warm if they were going to get out every stop (Page 21). Clarence 's grandfather was extremely hard on the him. In turn, Clarence held himself to higher

“‘Under this statute, the reviewing court shall determine only: (1) the legality of the decision and (2) whether there was substantial evidence from the record as a whole to support the decision.’” Thomas v. Dep’t of Labor, Licensing, & Regulation, 170 Md. App. 650, 657 (2006) (quoting Dep’t of Labor, Licensing, & Regulation v. Hinder, 349 Md. 71, 77-78 (1998)). Moreover, “[w]e ‘may not reject a decision of the Board supported by substantial evidence unless that decision is wrong as a matter of law.’” Thomas, supra, 170 Md. App. at 658 (quoting Hernandez v. Dep’t of Labor, Licensing, & Regulation, 122 Md. App. 19, 23 (1998)).