Is Clarence Thomas the worst SC Justice in history?

[quinnox]

Honestly, couldn't a good case be made Thomas may be the worst justice ever? What an embarrassment!

And he is 61 years old, the way things are going lately this sucker will probably be around for the next 20 years.:grr:

[joeybee12]

1. He's certainly up there...

or down there, I guess...

[roguevalley]

49. the chief justice (laney? taney?) during the dred scott decision was

so bad he was mocked by north and south, is the only chief justice without his bust in the courthouse, died in poverty while still on the court and is considered the worst of all time even then. I think this group ranks with them and for sheer mendacity and incompetence and hatred, thomas and scalia are the worst.

[TornadoTN]

2. He and Scalia are neck-in-neck

But Roberts and Alito could very well take the title before its all said and done.

[Mudoria]

28. I think Scalia, Alito and Roberts actually are very knowledgeable

concerning the law. Like everyone here I disagree with their interpretation of it. As for Thomas he's an embarrassment to the SC. He may well be the least qualified person ever to sit on the bench, SC or any other court.

[Hosnon]

31. Scalia's freakishly smart. Too bad he's on the wrong side. nt.

[Odin2005]

40. Most sociopaths are very intelligent.

[Greyhound]

3. Perhaps not the very worst of all time, but certainly a contender. n/t

[iceman66]

4. Possibly the worst judge at any level of the judiciary.

You could pick 10 people at random off the street and probably at least 9 of them could do a better job.

[AngryAmish]

42. Certainly worse than the judge in Pennsylvania who was sending kids to jail for bribes

[butterfly77]

5. Yes,Yes,Yes,and yes..

and he has the damn nerve to get an attitude if you ask him about an issue as though he doesn't have to answer for it because he has a lifetime job which should be changed in someway..

[marmar]

6. He's certainly horrible.....but there have probably been Klansmen and all sorts of sociopaths.....

..... on the Court at some time.

[iceman66]

13. And Thomas is different how exactly?

[marmar]

16. Than a Klansman? ...... Thomas might be a troglodyte, but....

I don't think he belongs to a white supremacist group, unless you're counting the Supreme Court itself as one. :evilgrin:

[iceman66]

18. Well,

let's just say I'm not sure Thomas actually sees a black man when he looks in the mirror.

[KamaAina]

7. Going way, way back, you've got Roger Taney

of Dred Scott fame, or infamy.

[Zoeisright]

10. Yeah, I'd put him at that level. Along with the rest of the dastardly five.

Bunch of fascist pigs.

[iceman66]

15. Thomas would have voted for the majority in Dred Scot.

At some point he even signalled a willingness to reverse Brown.

[no_hypocrisy]

19. + 1

As an aside, I'll never forgive Oliver Wendell Holmes for allowing state-mandated sterilization on citizens in Buck v. Bell.

[TexasObserver]

8. Yes

[mstinamotorcity]

9. it depends

If you are looking at him as a leader or a follower. The latter is more true to his standard.Besides he is a troll.

[Demeter]

12. That's an Insult to Trolls

Clarence is much more repulsive and vicious.

[HillbillyBob]

11. Yup the good die young

The evil live for fucking ever.

[madinmaryland]

14. No. Supreme Court Justice Roger B. Taney.

1834-1864.

Wrote the Majority opinion in the Dred Scott case in 1857:

It is difficult at this day to realize the state of public opinion in regard to that unfortunate race which prevailed in the civilized and enlightened portions of the world at the time of the Declaration of Independence, and when the Constitution of the United States was framed and adopted; but the public history of every European nation displays it in a manner too plain to be mistaken. They had for more than a century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations, and so far unfit that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.

In essence, Taney stated that African Americans are of an inferior species and have no rights under the constitution.

Yes, there is a town named after him in Maryland (where he is from). Taneytown where there are KKK activities to this day.

[iceman66]

17. Unlike Taney et al, Thomas is not only evil, he's STUPID

and thus even more unsuited for the judiciary.

[joeybee12]

20. Agreed...the George W. Bush of the SCOTUS...n/t

[madinmaryland]

21. I would hesitate calling Thomas the evil one. Stupid, yes. Though

I would define him as intellectually incurious.

I would consider Roberts to be the evil one, as all of the evidence points to him being on a mission to shepard through the court all of the requests the Corporations.

[iceman66]

22. You can argue that Thomas is no more than a rubber stamp for Roberts and Scalia,

but he is clearly serving the forces of evil, and that makes him evil himself in my estimation.

[madinmaryland]

24. Using that definition, you are corrrect. Interestingly, the scariest

of that bunch is Scalia, who I would say is a very sharp and intelligent man. I actually saw an oral argument about a year ago, and was surprised by both the pointed and well reasoned questions he asked and the humor that he injected into the hearing. It was even more interesting to watch two attorneys (who are definite liberals) argue a case with the conservative justices as their support.

I would define as "evil" both Roberts and Scalia. Alito and Thomas are more or less rubber stamps. As for Alito, when I was him, he and Roberts seemed to be following the same script, as if they had rehearsed together.

[NightHawk63]

44. Pound for pound, I'd put this fool's evil up against ANYONE to ...

ever sit on the High Court.

Voting against extending the Civil Rights Act.
http://thedailyvoice.com/voice/2009/06/clarence-thomas-casts-lone-vot-002023.php

Schools can strip search girls.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/25/AR2009062501690.html

[Ter]

50. He's unqualified, but he is not stupid

He did very well in school, he's just not into this job.

[malaise]

55. Perfect n/t

[NoPasaran]

45. Taneytown had that name before Roger Taney was born

For what it's worth, Wikepedia says it was named after someone who shared a common ancestor.

But I do agree that Taney was probably the worst SC Chief Justice.

[LeftishBrit]

23. There have been others who were worse in the sense of doing more harm

E.g. Roger Taney and colleagues who made the infamous Dred Scott decision. Melville Fuller and colleagues who made the 'separate but equal' decision over Plessy vs. Ferguson. Even on the current Supreme Court, Scalia probably has more power in the wrong direction.

In my own country, we had the infamous hanging-and-flogging Lord Chief Justice Goddard in the 1950s (but at least he made *one* good decision in his career: that police should not have the right to demand ID cards). And of course if you go back to the 19th century and earlier, many of our judges were savage, and did everything in their power to crush dissidents of all sorts and 'uppity' working class people in particular.

Were there any *more incompetent* than Thomas? Very likely, but I can't think of any! What possessed Daddy Bush to nominate him?!

[iceman66]

25. He was nominated because

Bush Sr. figured that the Democrats in the Senate, who had the majority, would not block an African American nominee, no matter how repugnant his ideology.

He was right of course.

[old mark]

26. If I recall his nomination hearing, other than the sexual harrassment thing, there

was not much to discuss because he had done virtually nothing worth mentioning in his entire career.

I believe an original thought and a drink of cold water would kill him.

mark

[Hosnon]

30. Yes - he's Scalia without the intellect. nt.

[old mark]

48. WOW! They must have to wheel him around on a refrigerator dolly....nt

[mitchum]

27. Not the worst, but the most INCOMPETENT

[Hosnon]

29. Put me down for "Least Qualified".

I think he was only a judge for a few years in a special federal court before being selected by Bush I. He is conservative and black - it was an easy move politically.

[gaspee]

32. Yes

Without a doubt.

[ParkieDem]

33. No.

Roger Taney, Melville Fuller and Tom Clark were all much worse.

[philly_bob]

36. Note to self: Read up on Taney, Fuller, & Clark. Discussion was useful. /nt

[NightHawk63]

37. Honestly, If this fool was on the court with Taney...

...he would have voted with the majority in the Dred Scott case. I have NO doubts about that.

[plcdude]

34. I propose a sting operation

on Clarence surely we catch him putting pubic hair on coke cans expose him and force his retirement. Obama appoints a replacement and we go back and straighten this out. Who wants to form a team?

[yellerpup]

35. Shoulda confirmed Anita Hill for the SC instead.

Send Clarence to sex addict rehab to help him get over his dependence on porn. He's dangerously stupid, but then anyone would seem bright to G HW Bush.

[Fire1]

38. Why would he have to be THE "worst?" n/t

[Odin2005]

39. After yesterday it is Roberts.

[Raster]

43. In my mind, he's about as illegitimate as they come. He's the bush* butt boy....

...and certainly not the quality or caliber that should be sitting in the Chief Justice chair.

[Raster]

41. Clarence the Perv the worst? I think he's running neck-and-neck with Fat Tony.

[CoffinEd]

46. You mean Clarence who didn't hesitate to deal the race card...

when his confirmation was in jeopardy? High-tech lynching Clarence? Coke and a smile Clarence? That Clarence?

And to think he succeeded Thurgood Marshall on the court. Embarrassment is right!

To answer your question, on a scale of 1 to 10, Clarence is a damn -5341. And I'm in a good mood today.

[rug]

47. He's tied with Roger Taney.

[Sebastian Doyle]

51. Opie Roberts is.

Thomas is a horrible bastard, but at least he was arguably qualified when he was appointed. Opie never was a judge at all until 2002, and even that was a a Chimpointment reward for his part in the Florida 2000 fraud.

[Skittles]

52. yes

hands down

[Generator]

53. The dude was almost done in with a

pubic hair. I think that sums up his character.

[malaise]

54. He has lots of company

he should never have been appointed. That 52-48 still annoys me.