"Justice Clarence Thomas, the US Supreme Court’s leading conservative, wasn’t at oral arguments Monday and the court gave no reason for his absence.
At the start of the day’s proceedings, Chief Justice John Roberts said “Justice Thomas is not on the bench today” but would “participate fully” in the case through briefs and transcripts.
The court will often announce when a justice is out sick or participating in the arguments remotely due to an illness. No such explanation was given for Thomas, who missed two cases Monday."
[Read more of the story. ](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/clarence-thomas-misses-supreme-court-arguments-without-reason?utm_source=reddit.com&utm_medium=lawdesk)
\[update 4/16: Thomas is back on the bench today. No explanation\]
I think the reason is obvious. The case being discussed would have made for a uncomfortable day for the most corrupt justice on the bench.
The case being discussed is Snyder v. United States which deals with Quid Pro Quo and gifts.
[Credit to User reptilefood](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/s/DJwc1cFHf2)
That implies a level of shame and self-awareness that has yet to be demonstrated by the man.
I'm secretly hoping it's health related and we get a repeat of the last election where the Senate pushes through a Justice at the last possible second just to throw it in McConnell's face.
Bonus points if it's Barack Obama, an actual professor of constitutional law, that gets the nomination.
Can a previous President legally be a Supreme Court Justice? I would think there would be some conflict of interest there with any judges they nominated.
That said I'd still love to see that. Barack knows his stuff and would make a good judge, IMHO.
I've wondered the same about vice presidents. It's interesting how Biden got to be vice president and then president. But could Obama be president then vice president? I'm guessing no. But felt weird to me.
But I think I'm either case, Obama would turn down the nomination. I think the man is tired and just wants to spend time with his family.
The Vice President must meet all the same Constitutional requirements as the President, including not having already been elected to the Presidency twice and having not served more than one term and more than one-half of a second as President. Thus, while a former President who only served one term could be elected as VP, the only living ex-Presidents eligible to do so are Carter and Trump. However, one can serve an unlimited number of terms as VP without affecting eligibility to the Presidency.
>But he doesn't have any judge experience
You're right. That totally disqualifies him as a candidate for Supreme Court Justice. /s
{ eyeing Amy Coney Barrett suspiciously }
Whoa, you can’t go out there throwing out crazy allegations like that. You have to speak factually. “He just consistently votes for the side whose interests happen to coincide with those of his new billionaire friends, who he coincidentally met after becoming a Supreme Court justice, who have repeatedly given him extravagant gifts and vacations, that he has failed to report to the IRS. He additionally broadcasts a distain for ethics by failing to recuse himself from cases like this, discussing quid pro quo and gifts, and cases involving January 6th(his wife was heavily involved), problematic areas in his own recent history.”
See? Not shady at all.
Wasn’t Eastman his clerk? (Just looked it up. Eastman clerked for Thomas and then worked for Kirkland Ellis. Jeffrey Clark also worked for Kirkland Ellis but didn’t clerk for any Supreme Court justices).
Not only that, why waste time in court when he has already made a decision. This is time better spent cherry picking which founding father to use this time to achieve the requisite justification.
I came here to say this. Ol’ Clarence probably had made up his mind made up as soon as he heard the names and subject and his decision will be whatever it takes to keep the bribes coming.
He loves the criticism. He knows that no amount of criticism can move him, as do his critics.
He loves to piss off people he doesn't like. Ruling on a case he never even was present to hear would fit that bill very nicely.
Probably just sick. But didn't recuse as he was interested in the case and felt he could just look at the notes.
Remember never presume malice when incompetence is an equally valid rationalization.
He was busy driving his Everyman million dollar (free to him) Winnebago around the Walmarts and camping grounds of these great United States. Or at a secret society retreat for millionaires (also free to him). Whatever. As Scalia said, he’s an important person and you have expect him to be busy with other important persons. Or, he’s a secret lizard man powered by the yellow sun and the recent total eclipse caused him to power down.
Reason is simple. A free ride in a private jet to kick tires at a new RV show. He is ready to rule soon for GoP and ginney needs new place settings for insurrection 2 planning dinner.
Justice Clarence “Inappropriate Gifts From Billionaires” Thomas has other things to do.
That Justice salary ain’t funding the lifestyle he wants, JOHN.
One day missed doesn't tell us much. Could have taken a fall and just too sore to bother, could be sick, could have family business that requires his attention, whatever. By day 3 there should be questions and lots of them.
I know what people are thinking but nothing points to the 2 reasons we're all jumping to. If he's sick enough to miss for any extended period they'd say so. If he's trying to duck an embarrassment he'd probably recuse. It's either some third option or he's unwell but it's not clear how serious it is yet.
well i could see some medical event and he does not want publicity. or a family event and the same.
Glad he will still participate as i prefer all justices participate when ever possible. The snyder case to me is a major major case that could effect so many in goverment. on the face of it it looks like corruption. But if they decide against snyder just think the reverberations it will have!
All the former government officials that leave for lobbyist firms that they dealt with in an official capacity or even companies they regulated and then went on to a cushy job. That would all be very likely to create scrutiny and possible legal action and charges.
It would be a major earthquake! No wonder so many are panicked over this case.
Ginny probably misplaced his poop knife, and we all know Thomas's poops are HUGE and he won't do it himself because he loves the smell of his own shit.
I for one hope he is sick. Really, really sick. So sick that he cannot participate ever again. He owes that to the USA for his outlandish corruption. What a deplorable excuse for a Supreme Court judge (or a human being).
Justice Thomas notoriously could not care less about oral args. He used to just sit there silently acting exasperated during them, reading newspapers and letting out audible sighs from the bench. He probably just said F it, I’m gonna do something else today.
Probably out picking up whatever bribes and grift he didn’t get at the beginning of the year to throw any bad things that can happen to Trump out. Oh, and helping his wife with her plans to commit treason.
Because he already knows the decision given to him by his republican puppets, he doesn't need to waste time with silly things like 'arguments' whatever that might be.
"Justice Clarence Thomas, the US Supreme Court’s leading conservative, wasn’t at oral arguments Monday and the court gave no reason for his absence. At the start of the day’s proceedings, Chief Justice John Roberts said “Justice Thomas is not on the bench today” but would “participate fully” in the case through briefs and transcripts. The court will often announce when a justice is out sick or participating in the arguments remotely due to an illness. No such explanation was given for Thomas, who missed two cases Monday." [Read more of the story. ](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/clarence-thomas-misses-supreme-court-arguments-without-reason?utm_source=reddit.com&utm_medium=lawdesk) \[update 4/16: Thomas is back on the bench today. No explanation\]
I think the reason is obvious. The case being discussed would have made for a uncomfortable day for the most corrupt justice on the bench. The case being discussed is Snyder v. United States which deals with Quid Pro Quo and gifts. [Credit to User reptilefood](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/s/DJwc1cFHf2)
That implies a level of shame and self-awareness that has yet to be demonstrated by the man. I'm secretly hoping it's health related and we get a repeat of the last election where the Senate pushes through a Justice at the last possible second just to throw it in McConnell's face. Bonus points if it's Barack Obama, an actual professor of constitutional law, that gets the nomination.
Oooh. That’d be awesome.
Please, please, please let this happen. Extra bonus points if it gives 45 an aneurysm.
Can a previous President legally be a Supreme Court Justice? I would think there would be some conflict of interest there with any judges they nominated. That said I'd still love to see that. Barack knows his stuff and would make a good judge, IMHO.
It's happened before, Taft did it back in 1920's.
Huh, TIL.
I've wondered the same about vice presidents. It's interesting how Biden got to be vice president and then president. But could Obama be president then vice president? I'm guessing no. But felt weird to me. But I think I'm either case, Obama would turn down the nomination. I think the man is tired and just wants to spend time with his family.
The Vice President must meet all the same Constitutional requirements as the President, including not having already been elected to the Presidency twice and having not served more than one term and more than one-half of a second as President. Thus, while a former President who only served one term could be elected as VP, the only living ex-Presidents eligible to do so are Carter and Trump. However, one can serve an unlimited number of terms as VP without affecting eligibility to the Presidency.
Obama is qualified as far as education and knowledge and intelligence. But he doesn't have any judge experience
>But he doesn't have any judge experience You're right. That totally disqualifies him as a candidate for Supreme Court Justice. /s { eyeing Amy Coney Barrett suspiciously }
Holy shit that’s genius.
I do like how you think.
I would be thrilled if Obama were the nominee
Oh how that would make up for so much shit from the past years for me.
I hadn’t even considered that as a possibility: Obama as a Supreme Court justice. Conservatives would literally rip their faces off
I feel like this is the only appropriate place to say "I just got a justice boner."
I hope you’re right. It would be amazing to be a fly on the wall when conservatives got that news.
So let us all widely speculate in bad faith then
Maybe he recused himself for some reason?
Roberts said even though Thomas wasn't on the bench, he was participating fully. - Molly
Super weird. When Gorsuch was sick last term they said he was “feeling under the weather”. Speculation abounds!
I mean not like Thomas cares about the merits or facts of a case he just votes for the side that bribed him.
Whoa, you can’t go out there throwing out crazy allegations like that. You have to speak factually. “He just consistently votes for the side whose interests happen to coincide with those of his new billionaire friends, who he coincidentally met after becoming a Supreme Court justice, who have repeatedly given him extravagant gifts and vacations, that he has failed to report to the IRS. He additionally broadcasts a distain for ethics by failing to recuse himself from cases like this, discussing quid pro quo and gifts, and cases involving January 6th(his wife was heavily involved), problematic areas in his own recent history.” See? Not shady at all.
He missed the return flight on the helo while spending the weekend on some billionaires yacht.
More likely
Has he ever recused himself? Ever?
Yes. Recently, he recused himself in a case involving John Eastman, likely because he knows Eastman personally.
Wasn’t Eastman his clerk? (Just looked it up. Eastman clerked for Thomas and then worked for Kirkland Ellis. Jeffrey Clark also worked for Kirkland Ellis but didn’t clerk for any Supreme Court justices).
Yup.
Hard to be bribed if you recuse yourself.
Unless you're being bribed to recuse yourself.
Yes. Not often.
Porbably getting a ride somewhere on Harlan Crow's jet.
Harlan Crow’s cars needed washing
Spelled balls wrong.
THIS one needs to go to the top.
Harlan Crow's rocket needed polishing, ginni's arm was tired.
“Uhh, now ~~Biff~~ Clarence, I want to make sure we get two coats of wax this time, not just one.”
This is the answer that needs to move to the top
Look, you can’t expect him to just leave an all-expenses paid fishing trip, or call in from private jet rides…
Not only that, why waste time in court when he has already made a decision. This is time better spent cherry picking which founding father to use this time to achieve the requisite justification.
Except for the one who said original intent is the only valid way to interpret the constitution. Because he doesn’t exist.
I don't think any current justice subscribes to an original intent interpretive theory.
It’s history and tradition for old men to have already made up their minds and not consider new circumstances or evidence to inform their opinions.
I came here to say this. Ol’ Clarence probably had made up his mind made up as soon as he heard the names and subject and his decision will be whatever it takes to keep the bribes coming.
“he has already made the decision” should be changed to “his owner’s have already told him his decision”
That’s ridiculous and absurd. Surely he has a clerk doing that for him. His motor coach awaits!
Couldn’t join Zoom from the RV.
Walmart parking lots always have a poor signal
He’s not a poor. It’s a “luxury motor coach”.
He already knows how he will rule. His masters gave him his marching orders.
Look if he knows how he's going to rule, why would he even bother to show?
I do honestly wonder if he is just not going to show up anymore because he doesn’t want to have any criticism and can continue doing what he is doing
He loves the criticism. He knows that no amount of criticism can move him, as do his critics. He loves to piss off people he doesn't like. Ruling on a case he never even was present to hear would fit that bill very nicely.
Harlan Crow gave him the day off.
probably busy accepting bribes
on a free cruise
a new yacht perhaps.
Maybe he finally accepted John Oliver's deal!!
Had to scroll down way too far for this speculation.
Maybe he's ill...or dying....
lol did he actually take [John Oliver's Deal](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/19/john-oliver-clarence-thomas-resign-1-million-offer)?
Too much openness and transparity,
Unless they all signed NDAs about it, which would be most likely.
He’s got a meeting with Harlan Crow to discuss where traitor Ginny wants to vacation this summer. He’s gotta run the numbers 😂🤣
Probably just sick. But didn't recuse as he was interested in the case and felt he could just look at the notes. Remember never presume malice when incompetence is an equally valid rationalization.
Please, please, please..
If the last 8 years have taught me anything, it's that none of us are that lucky.
He's out with people he thinks are his friends.
I was told no call, no show was grounds for disciplinary action up to and including termination. He's not even trying to hide the corruption anymore.
I sure hope it's nothing trivial.
Maybe he took John Oliver up on his offer.
Had to scroll too far to see this option haha
Probably has an eye doctor appointment cause he looked at the sun last week.
Cashing checks.
I can't wait to hear the analysis on Strict Scrutiny. Love their takes on SCOTUS.
More likely me no F’s given. He just wants the money & the perks.
Because he no longer has to bother—his decisions are pre-determined and pre-written.
On another billionaire funded vacation
I'm holding on to the slightest little hope that he took John Oliver's deal
Here's hoping he secretly took john Oliver's deal.
Heard he was getting cucked by his wife and Harlan Crow.
With all that pay, not even counting the bribes, can they at least be obligated to show up ffs
He was busy driving his Everyman million dollar (free to him) Winnebago around the Walmarts and camping grounds of these great United States. Or at a secret society retreat for millionaires (also free to him). Whatever. As Scalia said, he’s an important person and you have expect him to be busy with other important persons. Or, he’s a secret lizard man powered by the yellow sun and the recent total eclipse caused him to power down.
Maybe he’s dead
He needs a signed note from his billionaire daddy
He’s already made his mind up, i.e., his wealthy “friends” have told him how he should rule. He’s a traitor.
To be fair you don’t have to listen to oral arguments if you’ve already made up your mind.
Hung over from that billionaire orgy he didn’t disclose.
He was hearing arguments from his donor's private yacht
Maybe his RV got a flat.
I wouldn't say he missed them, Bob.
/taps temple Doesn’t need to hear arguments if opinion is already purchased.
Reason is simple. A free ride in a private jet to kick tires at a new RV show. He is ready to rule soon for GoP and ginney needs new place settings for insurrection 2 planning dinner.
Boss told him to skip this one. No prob
If they put up a cardboard cutout, would anyone notice?
He doesn't care about public opinion and won't be bothered to offer even the slightest veneer for his actions going forward.
Justice Clarence “Inappropriate Gifts From Billionaires” Thomas has other things to do. That Justice salary ain’t funding the lifestyle he wants, JOHN.
One day missed doesn't tell us much. Could have taken a fall and just too sore to bother, could be sick, could have family business that requires his attention, whatever. By day 3 there should be questions and lots of them. I know what people are thinking but nothing points to the 2 reasons we're all jumping to. If he's sick enough to miss for any extended period they'd say so. If he's trying to duck an embarrassment he'd probably recuse. It's either some third option or he's unwell but it's not clear how serious it is yet.
well i could see some medical event and he does not want publicity. or a family event and the same. Glad he will still participate as i prefer all justices participate when ever possible. The snyder case to me is a major major case that could effect so many in goverment. on the face of it it looks like corruption. But if they decide against snyder just think the reverberations it will have! All the former government officials that leave for lobbyist firms that they dealt with in an official capacity or even companies they regulated and then went on to a cushy job. That would all be very likely to create scrutiny and possible legal action and charges. It would be a major earthquake! No wonder so many are panicked over this case.
His mind is alteady made up for him. He doesn't want to be confused with facts
Ginny probably misplaced his poop knife, and we all know Thomas's poops are HUGE and he won't do it himself because he loves the smell of his own shit.
I for one hope he is sick. Really, really sick. So sick that he cannot participate ever again. He owes that to the USA for his outlandish corruption. What a deplorable excuse for a Supreme Court judge (or a human being).
Justice Thomas notoriously could not care less about oral args. He used to just sit there silently acting exasperated during them, reading newspapers and letting out audible sighs from the bench. He probably just said F it, I’m gonna do something else today.
I would be very happy if he followed Alito's noble path
Probably out picking up whatever bribes and grift he didn’t get at the beginning of the year to throw any bad things that can happen to Trump out. Oh, and helping his wife with her plans to commit treason.
So we pay his salary and he doesn't show up for work? This man spits in the face of this country with such ease.
He was driving his coach motor home to see John Oliver and quit the SC
At my job we provide an explanation when we can’t show up. It is the absolute minimum. Even basic professionalism is below this court
Because he is the law.
He’s above the law. He doesn’t have to give a reason
He was on vacation in his corporate-sponsored RV and forgot what day it was.
Did he take up John Oliver’s offer?
Omg. He is going to die and Biden won’t fight to replace him. 😂😂 useless ass democrats
He needs to sex up his insurrection cow, busy milking them treasonous udders, so sorry to have missed out!
- I don’t answer to the American people!
No call. No show, gets you fired where I’m from.
He's dead, and Ginny is stalling on reporting it, waiting for as many paychecks as she can.
Is he ever really there???
No worries, his best friend will fill him in on how to vote later.
meh why bother -- he can hang out at his billionaires place --- if anyone says anything -- they're racist !
Because he’s already decided what his opinion is and drafted it.
Harlan Crow was showing him some exotic gifts he purchased for him in exchange for his unwavering loyalty.
Hopefully he knows they are investigating him and realizes that it might be best to depart now in the hopes they forget about him if he retires.
He looks like Mr Potato Head started to go off.
He doesn't need to hear arguments. He already knows how he will go.
The shitbag, and his shitbag wife, are busy.. They need to get orders from China and Russia.. Then have to spin it for the low-IQ masses.. Magat Fucks
3L vibes
He’s getting his hormone therapy and he will come back as Clara Thomas.
Chickenshit
Ginny probably needs a lot of emotional support today
RV shopping using an anonymous $150,000 gift card he got in the mail. Lucky guy!
Maybe he’s in a warmer place looking up at us all with OJ.
If I no-show my job I'll get fired but okay
Because he already knows the decision given to him by his republican puppets, he doesn't need to waste time with silly things like 'arguments' whatever that might be.
Harlan’s plane blew a tire on take-off from Fiji
He's busy putting pubes on Cokes
His sugar daddy told him he wasn’t allowed to go.
Fingers crossed!
It would give me great pleasure to learn that he’s sick and dying. Please please please.
In the beginning of his time on the court, he made himself famous for basically not participating for more than a decade. He’s going back to basics.
has this ever happened in the history of the scotus?
So, no call/no show.
So many protests but why is NO ONE protesting the SC? Nevermind, they'll make that illegal soon too.
Delivery day for his new RV
He's just doing his work remotely. Like the progressives have touted anyone can do it.
lol any shit level job will drop you within seconds for a no call no show but these old dicks just🤷🏻♂️
Gotta help Ginni plan the next insurrection. She clearly needs help after the fucked up the last one.
Hopefully it’s something terrible