Thomas still hasn't said anything

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Clarence Thomas' silent streak, which I blogged about last May, remains unbroken:
WASHINGTON - Two years and 144 cases have passed since Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas last spoke up at oral arguments. It is a period of unbroken silence that contrasts with the rest of the court's unceasing inquiries.

Hardly a case goes by, including two appeals that were argued Monday, without eight justices peppering lawyers with questions. Oral arguments offer justices the chance to resolve nagging doubts about a case, probe its weaknesses or make a point to their colleagues.

Left, right and center, the justices ask and they ask and they ask. Sometimes they debate each other, leaving the lawyer at the podium helpless to jump in. "I think you're handling these questions very well," Chief Justice John Roberts quipped to a lawyer recently in the midst of one such exchange.

Leaning back in his leather chair, often looking up at the ceiling, Thomas takes it all in, but he never joins in.


Comments

rzzachel said…
This always makes me laugh. It's like he thinks he's intimidating lawyers by staring balefully at them. I'd be like, well, that's one down, now I only have to deal with 8 people grilling me!
Keep mum Clarence!
8:08 PM, March 14, 2008
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