If I’ve ever mocked Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for his legendary silence during high-court oral arguments — and I’m sure I have — I take it all back.
What could I have been thinking? My own experience from attending countless government committee meetings over the years should have taught me that most of the conversation at these sessions was just pointless blather from people who loved the sound of their own voices.
This same dynamic is patently unfair when it occurs during an oral argument before the Supreme Court. It takes away precious time from the litigants in the case at issue.
Justice Thomas MADE THIS POINT in a recent speech at the University of Kentucky. And he was right.
I wish a few other Justices would shut up too.
If he already has the answers, he doesn’t need to ask any questions.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/10/03/koch-entertained-justice-thomas-at-his-private-club/