Clarence Thomas won’t teach law classes after student protests
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will not lead a constitutional law class at George Washington University as planned, a school spokesperson told HuffPost, following student protests calling for his firing.
A online petition to give Thomas the boot received more than 10,000 signatures following the Supreme Court’s decision to roll back abortion rights in late June. Yet George Washington Law supported Thomas, even as student activists urged his classmates contact the dean of the school to request the removal of the judge.
The precise reasons why Thomas retired are unclear; he did not respond to a request for comment. His co-instructor, Gregory Maggs, said in an email to students that Thomas was “unavailable.” according to Hachette GW.
A spokesperson for George Washington University put it the same way, saying in a statement that “Judge Thomas has informed GW Law that he is not available to co-teach a constitutional law seminar this fall”.
“Students were promptly informed of Judge Thomas’ decision by his co-instructor who will continue to offer the seminar this fall,” the statement read.
Thomas and Maggs have been teaching together for more than 10 years, according to the Hatchet.
“For those of you who are still interested in taking the course, I assure you that we will make the best of the new situation,” said Maggs, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Forces. armies, to the students in his e-mail.
A course catalog by George Washington describes the seminar, titled Leading Cases in Context, as an opportunity to study “a fuller history of a number of leading cases than is usually presented in law courses.” constitutional”.
“Opinions in major Supreme Court cases usually tell only part of a complex story,” the description says. “While they discuss the facts that immediately led to the litigation, they often do not fully expose the motivations of litigants or the social and political context of legal controversies. Nor can reviews describe reactions to court rulings or the subsequent influence of rulings.
Protests broke out all over the country when the Supreme Court released its decision last month on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, reversing the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade who legalized abortion nationwide.
Judge Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion. Thomas agreed, adding his suggestion that the High Court revisit other cases that have cemented various other civil rights in America, such as the right of same-sex people to marry.
Protesters marching outside the homes of conservative Supreme Court justices led Congress to quickly lead increased security funding for the court and their family members. At the Thomas house, the judge’s wife, conservative activist Ginni Thomas, inspired her own criticism as reports emerged detailing the extent to which she tried to help the former president donald trump‘s efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election.
