'Mr. Constitution' Clarence Thomas Speaks

Justin Paulette

Justin Paulette is an attorney practicing international law in bella Italia. He hails from the great Buckeye State, "The Heart of it All," the only state with a bridge which you can cross and still be on the same side of the river, home of the hot dog, pop top soda can and the largest basket in the world! Though he's spent the past decade jet-setting across the Atlantic with one foot in London and the other on Capitol Hill, he still fancies himself a Mid-western, God-fearing, role-playing geek at heart.

Posted:

03/22/08

Justice Clarence Thomas "Interpreting the Constitution is the Supreme Court's most important and most difficult task. An even harder question is how to approach a Constitution that, in fact, is no longer in pristine form. . . ."

The Wall Street Journal has an interview today with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. As always, on the rare occasions when Justice Thomas provides a glimpse into his mind and jurisprudence, one ought to pay due attention. Particularly in light of the forthcoming Supreme Court decisions on matters of great public concern (see Charles Lane's excellent WaPo column on a case considering the right to bear arms), Justice Thomas' opinions on constitutional interpretation are of profound significance:

"I don't put myself in a category. Maybe I am labeled as an originalist or something, but it's not my constitution to play around with. Let's just start with that. We're citizens. It's our country, it's our constitution. I don't feel I have any particular right to put my gloss on your constitution. My job is simply to interpret it.

"And when I can't find something in that document or in the tradition or history around that document, then I am getting on dangerous ground. Because that's when you drift so much more towards your own policy preferences."