Clarence Thomas becomes the second longest-serving justice in Supreme Court history

WASHINGTON– The first baby boomer on the Supreme Court reached a milestone Thursday, becoming the second-longest-serving justice in history at a time when his influence has never seemed greater.

Once an outlier on the nation’s highest court, Justice Clarence Thomas has become a dominant figure in the conservative legal movement over the past decade as he helped secure landmark rulings on abortion, voting and Second Amendment rights.

The only justice with a longer tenure is the liberal William O. Douglas. Thomas would surpass Douglas in 2028 if he stays on the field — and there’s no indication he plans to retire anytime soon.

“I think he’s more energetic and excited now than when I first met him,” said John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who served in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration after being a Thomas staffer three decades ago.

Thomas was confirmed in 1991 after contentious hearings that included allegations of sexual harassment. More recently, his embrace of luxury travel has raised a storm of ethical questions. He nevertheless moved from near silence during oral arguments to asking the first questions and writing a landmark decision expanding Second Amendment rights.

Following the appointment of three conservative justices by Republican President Donald Trump, Thomas is now the longest-serving member of a supermajority that also struck down abortion as a constitutional right, ended affirmative action in college admissions and sharply limited the Voting Rights Act.

“The court has moved dramatically in his direction during his tenure,” said Pamela Karlan, a law professor at Stanford University. Thomas’ seniority means he can decide who writes an opinion if he is part of a majority that does not include Chief Justice John Roberts, a factor that may push further votes behind closed doors, Karlan said.

Off the bench, Thomas’ sphere of influence also includes his vast, tight network of former clerks, who served in the Trump administration and are increasingly filling the ranks of federal judges.

“It’s an important legacy that he will leave,” said Sarah Konsky, director of the Supreme Court and Appellate Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School. “Even as judges’ time on the court draws to a close, significant influence continues through their clerks. »

That doesn’t mean Thomas’ time on the field is up. In a recent speech, Thomas linked the nation’s highest ideals to a conservative vision of limited government — and launched an offensive against progressivism seen by critics as unfair and inappropriate. In the University of Texas hall, however, he received a standing ovation.

Thomas, who became the court’s second black member, now has a tenure of more than 34 years, putting him ahead of Justice Stephen J. Field, who was appointed by Lincoln before the end of the Civil War and served as the only 10th justice until 1897.

For Thomas, 77, it’s a far cry from the hearings in which his nomination by Republican President George HW Bush was nearly derailed by allegations that he sexually harassed Anita Hill, an accusation he has forcefully denied.

Thomas has more recently come under scrutiny for the lavish, undisclosed trips of a GOP megadonor and for the conservative political activism of his wife, who supported false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. Justice said he was not required to disclose trips he took with friends and ignored calls to recuse himself from election-related cases.

On the ground, however, recent years have also brought perhaps the most important work of his career, particularly a 2022 opinion he authored that people generally have the right to carry a gun in public. The judge did not respond to a request for comment on his mandate.

His own jurisprudence has changed little over the years, said Scott Gerber, author of “First Principles: The Jurisprudence of Clarence Thomas.” Even if the majority moves in his direction, he continues to write dissenting opinions which are noticed.

“He’s incredibly consistent,” Gerber said. Once known for his individual dissents, “he now writes majority opinions.”

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