Posted on 04/06/2005 5:53:34 PM PDT by wagglebee
He may have graduated from one of the nation's top Ivy League schools, but former student and current Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas doesn't have a warm and cozy alumni relationship with his old alma mater.
According to the Yale Daily News, Thomas – who graduated from Yale Law School in 1974 – has never once, since joining the high court, spoken to students at the university. Yet he's made scores of appearances on other college campuses.
Furthermore, while the top law school prominently features portraits of graduates who have ascended to the Supreme Court – "William Howard Taft, William Douglas, Byron White, Abe Fortas and Potter Stewart" – Thomas' photo is not among them.
"Thomas' relationship with Yale is rocky to be sure, observers say, due in large part to the public role many law faculty members took in opposing his 1991 Supreme Court nomination," said the paper.
Ken Foskett, a 1983 graduate, an investigative reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Thomas' biographer, agreed.
"It is true that he does not have a great relationship with the school ... as exemplified by the fact that the school has portraits of lesser figures, but not Thomas," he told the paper. "Thomas' friends say the Law School snubbed him; the Law School says they made several overtures and he rebuffed them."
Just how deep does the animosity go?
Thomas, says Foskett, won't even hire Yale alumni. In fact, says the biographer, he won't hire any Ivy League graduates, preferring instead to get his employees from lesser-known schools with little of Yale's prestige.
"He really felt like he was out of place at Yale," says Foskett, who told the paper Thomas was just one of 12 blacks in his graduating class.
Thomas himself has expressed some negativity about the school. "You had to prove yourself every day, because the presumption was that you were dumb and didn't deserve to be there on merit," he has said, perhaps explaining why he is not a supporter of affirmative action programs.
And even though he had graduated from Yale, he still couldn't find a job, says the paper.
Thomas is probably most remembered for the extreme controversy generated during his Senate confirmation process.
He was nominated by President George H.W. Bush to replace retiring Justice Thurgood Marshall. But shortly after he was nominated, allegations surfaced that he had engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with Anita Hill, a Yale Law graduate and a colleague of Thomas' while both worked for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
"In those hearings, Yale law professor Drew Days testified against Thomas – even before Hill's allegations surfaced – arguing that Thomas had a limited historical perspective and had a spotty record with protecting women from discrimination, among other claims," said the Yale newspaper.
Guido Calabresi, then-dean of the Law School and now a Federal Appeals Court judge, spoke in favor of Thomas at those hearings. But that didn't ease Thomas' animosity, in Calabresi's view.
"I think he expected the school to rush to support him as a distinguished graduate being nominated to the Supreme Court. But that didn't happen," he told the paper.
Well duh. That and a lot of other good reasons. Thomas is the second best justice on the bench. And it's a steep drop from there.
Do you have Scalia or Rehnquist at number one? I don't think either of them is a "steep drop" from Thomas, but I agree that the other six justices are mediocre at best.
Scalia and Rehnquist are tied for number one.
I would agree.
I've got Scalia as number one. Thomas is a close second, but Scalia's opinions are the best. I thought about giving Rehnquist a grudging nod. It's probably not fair to say he's off the cliff. But you agree that after that, it's a precipitious drop. Kennedy and O'Connor are both disasters.
Although Kennedy is nowhere near the disaster that O'Conner is.
"Thomas is probably most remembered for the extreme controversy generated during his Senate confirmation process."
Ahhhh, scuze me: Thomas is probably most remembered for the faux controversy trumped up by hypocritical leftist liars during his Senate confirmation process.
I don't know. Didn't he have a hand in the recent use of Zimbabwean law in the recent death penalty case? Kennedy was on the right side in Carhart, but he seems to be getting worse and worse.
I have to disagree, I believe it is only Judge Thomas who upholds not only adherence to the formality and jurisdiction of the courts Constitutional duties, as do Rehnquist and Scalia, but uses the rational of our founders philosophy when writing opinions....IMHO
I have to admit, I am searching my brain for a specific reason why I am prejudiced against Rehnquist compared to the other two, so I could be wrong about him.
I only see ONE Chief Justice on that list, and since he was also President, I wonder if Slick Willie's picture is up.
For what it's worth, I don't think Thomas will ever be Chief Justice. I don't think Thomas or Bush want a repeat of Anita Hill, I think when Rehnquist retires it will be Scalia.
If Yale could have gotten away with it they would have taken back the law degree they awarded Thomas. And they have the audacity to whine about how Thomas snubs them?
Absolutely, Rehnquist has made some pretty obnoxious statements in his opinions. Ill dig one out and post it shortly.
OTOH, Dingy Harry really stepped in it a few months ago when he called Thomas an "embarrassment." That episode might make the Dims a bit nervous about trying to repeat the Anita Hill performance.
Thanks. I'm pretty sure there's a reason, I just don't recall.
A Scalia Court would be awesome, even if only for way it would drive liberals into fits!
I would Highly suggest reading 'Scalia Dissents'. An excellent read on his dissenting opinions. This man rocks.
Good for him, there's lots of other folks falling all over themselves for the 'top' law school graduates. It's good he gives the graduates of lesser known colleges a chance.
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