Justice Clarence Thomas

Justice Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since October 1991, when he was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to replace retiring Justice Thurgood Marshall. Decisions for which he has delivered the opinion of the Court are collected below.

Limtiaco v. Camacho
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
March 27, 2007
In 2003, Guam lacked sufficient revenues to pay its obligations. To supplement revenues, the Guam Legislature authorized the Governor to issue bonds worth approximately $400 million. See Guam Pub. L. ... (read more)

Weyerhauser Co. v. Ross-Simmons Hardwood Lumber Co.
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
February 20, 2007
Respondent Ross-Simmons, a sawmill, filed suit under §2 of the Sherman Act, alleging that petitioner Weyerhaeuser drove it out of business by bidding up the price of sawlogs to a level that prevented ... (read more)

Lawrence v. Florida
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
February 20, 2007
The 1-year statute of limitations for seeking federal habeas relief froma state-court judgment is tolled while an “application for State post-conviction or other collateral review” “is pending.” 28 U. ... (read more)

Carey v. Musladin
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
December 11, 2006
At respondent Musladin’s murder trial, members of the victim’s family sat in the front row of the spectators’ gallery wearing buttons displaying the victim’s image. The trial court denied Musladin’s motion ... (read more)

Kansas v. Marsh
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 26, 2006
Finding three aggravating circumstances that were not outweighed by mitigating circumstances, a Kansas jury convicted respondent Marsh of, inter alia, capital murder and sentenced him to death. Marsh ... (read more)

Washington v. Recuenco
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 26, 2006
After respondent threatened his wife with a handgun, he was convicted of second-degree assault based on the jury’s finding that he had assaulted her “with a deadly weapon.” A “firearm” qualifies as a ... (read more)

Samson v. California
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 19, 2006
Pursuant to a California statute—which requires every prisoner eligible for release on state parole to “agree in writing to be subject to search or seizure by a parole officer or other peace officer . ... (read more)

eBay Inc. v. MercExchange L.L.C.
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
May 15, 2006
Petitioners operate popular Internet Web sites that allow private sell-ers to list goods they wish to sell. Respondent sought to license its business method patent to petitioners, but no agreement was ... (read more)

Northern Ins. Co. of N.Y. v. Chatham County
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
April 25, 2006
Petitioner insurance company filed this admiralty suit against respon-dent County seeking damages resulting from a collision between a malfunctioning County drawbridge and a boat insured by petitioner. ... (read more)

Texaco v. Dagher
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
February 28, 2006
It is not per se illegal under §1 of the Sherman Act for a lawful, economically integrated joint venture to set the prices at which it sells its products. Although §1 prohibits “[e]very contract [or] ... (read more)

Unitherm Food Systems, Inc. v. Swift-Eckrich, Inc., dba Conagra Refrigerated Foods
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
January 23, 2006
Ordinarily, a party in a civil jury trial that believes the evidence is legally insufficient to support an adverse jury verdict will seek a judgment as a matter of law by filing a motion pursuant to Federal ... (read more)

Joan Wagnon, Secretary, Kansas Department of Revenue v. Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
December 6, 2005
The State of Kansas imposes a tax on the receipt of motor fuel by fuel distributors within its boundaries. Kansas applies that tax to motor fuel received by non-Indian fuel distributors who subsequently ... (read more)

National Cable, Telecommunications Association, FCC, and United States v. Brand X Internet Services
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 27, 2005
Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, 48 Stat. 1064, as amended, 47 U. S. C. §151 et seq., subjects all providers of “telecommunications servic[e]” to mandatory common-carrier regulation, §153(44). ... (read more)

Francis A. Orff v. United States
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 23, 2005
The Reclamation Act of 1902 set in motion a massive program to provide federal financing, construction, and operation of water storage and distribution projects to reclaim arid lands in many Western States.

Clingman, Secretary, Oklahoma State Election Board v. Andrea L. Beaver
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
May 23, 2005
Oklahoma has a semiclosed primary system, in which a political party may invite only its own party members and voters registered as Independents to vote in the party’s primary. The Court of Appeals held ... (read more)

David B. Pasquantino, Carl J. Pasquantino, and Arthur Hilts v. United States
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
April 26, 2005
At common law, the revenue rule generally barred courts from enforcing the tax laws of foreign sovereigns. The question presented in this case is whether a plot to defraud a foreign government of tax ... (read more)

Richard Gerald Rousey v. Jill R. Jacoway
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
April 4, 2005
The Bankruptcy Code permits debtors to exempt certain property from the bankruptcy estate, allowing them to retain those assets rather than divide them among theircreditors. 11 U. S. C. §522. The question ... (read more)

Willard Stewart v. Dutra Construction Company
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
February 22, 2005
As part of Boston’s Central Artery/Tunnel Project, or “Big Dig,” the Commonwealth of Massachusetts undertook to extend the Massachusetts Turnpike through a tunnel running beneath South Boston and Boston ... (read more)

Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Aviall Services
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
December 13, 2004
Section 113(f)(1) of the Comprehensive EnvironmentalResponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA)1 allows persons who have undertaken efforts to clean up properties contaminated by hazardous ... (read more)

United States v. Samuel Frances Patane
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 28, 2004
In this case we must decide whether a failure to give a suspect the warnings prescribed by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436 (1966), requires suppression of the physical fruits of the suspect’s unwarned ... (read more)

Jeffrey A. Beard, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections v. George E. Banks
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 24, 2004
In Mills v. Maryland, 486 U. S. 367 (1988), and McKoy v. North Carolina, 494 U. S. 433 (1990), this Court held invalid capital sentencing schemes that require juries to disregard mitigating factors not ... (read more)

Cheryl K. Pliler, Warden v. Richard Herman Ford
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 21, 2004
Under Rose v. Lundy, 455 U. S. 509 (1982), federal district courts must dismiss “mixed” habeas corpus peti-tions—those containing both unexhausted and exhausted claims. In this case, we decide whether ... (read more)

Aetna Health Inc., and Aetna U.S. Healthcare Inc., vs. Juan Davila
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 21, 2004
In these consolidated cases, two individuals sued their respective health maintenance organizations (HMOs) for alleged failures to exercise ordinary care in the handling of coverage decisions, in violation ... (read more)

Department of Transportation v. Public Citizen
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 7, 2004
In this case, we confront the question whether the Na-tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 83 Stat. 852 (codified, as amended, at 42 U. S. C. §§4321–4370f), and the Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 ... (read more)

Household Credit Services, Inc. and MBNA America Bank v. Sharon R. Pfennig
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
April 21, 2004
Congress enacted the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), 82 Stat. 146, in order to promote the "informed use of credit" by consumers. 15 U. S. C. §1601(a). To that end, TILA's disclosure provisions seek to ensure ... (read more)

United States v. Abel Cosmo Galletti
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
March 23, 2004
Section 6501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code states that, except as otherwise provided, “the amount of any tax imposed by this title shall be assessed within 3 years after the return was filed . . . and ... (read more)

Olympic Airways v. Husain, Individually, and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Abid M. Hanson, Deceased
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
February 24, 2004
Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention (Convention)1 imposes liability on an air carrier for a passenger’s death or bodily injury caused by an “accident” that occurred in connection with an international ... (read more)

Raytheon Company v. Joel Hernandez
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
December 2, 2003
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 104 Stat. 327, as amended, 42 U. S. C. §12101 et seq., makes it unlawful for an employer, with respect to hiring, to “dis-criminate against a qualified ... (read more)

Desert Palace, Inc. v. Catharina F. Costa
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 9, 2003
The question before us in this case is whether a plaintiff must present direct evidence of discrimination in order to obtain a mixed-motive instruction under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ... (read more)

Entergy Louisiana, Inc. v. Louisiana Public Service Commission et al.
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 2, 2003
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulates the sale of electricity at wholesale in interstate commerce. 16 U. S. C. §824(b). In this capacity, FERC must ensure that wholesale rates are ... (read more)

Ben Chavez v. Oliverio Martinez
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
May 27, 2003
This case involves a §1983 suit arising out of petitioner Ben Chavez's allegedly coercive interrogation of respondent Oliverio Martinez. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that ... (read more)

National Park Hospitality Association v. Department of the Interior
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
May 27, 2003
Petitioner, a nonprofit trade association that represents concessioners doing business in the national parks, challenges a National Park Service (NPS) regulation that purports to render the Contract Disputes ... (read more)

Board of Education v. Lindsay Earls et al.
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 27, 2002
The Student Activities Drug Testing Policy implemented by the Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County (School District) requires all students who participate in ... (read more)

National Railroad Passenger Corp. v. Abner Morgan
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 10, 2002
Respondent Abner Morgan, Jr., sued petitioner National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 253, as amended, 42 U. S. C. §2000e et seq. (1994 ... (read more)

John Ashcroft, Attorney General v. ACLU et al.
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
May 13, 2002
This case presents the narrow question whether the Child Online Protection Acts (COPA or Act) use of community standards to identify material that is harmful to minors violates the First Amendment. We ... (read more)

Dissent: Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
April 23, 2002
Thomas contends regulations prohibiting all productive uses of a proeprty, even if temporary, constitute a taking.

Jo Anne B. Barnhart v. Sigmon Coal Company, Inc. et al.
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
February 19, 2002
This case arises out of the Commissioner of Social Security's assignment, pursuant to the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992 (Coal Act or Act), 26 U. S. C. §9701 et seq. (1994 ed. and Supp. ... (read more)

Melvin Tyler v. Burl Cain, Warden
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 28, 2001
Under Cage v. Louisiana, 498 U.S. 39 (1990) (per curiam), a jury instruction is unconstitutional if there is a reasonable likelihood that the jury understood the instruction to allow conviction without ... (read more)

Good News Club et al. v. Milford Central School
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 11, 2001
This case presents two questions. The first question is whether Milford Central School violated the free speech rights of the Good News Club when it excluded the Club from meeting after hours at the school. ... (read more)

Sharon B. Pollard v. E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Company
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 4, 2001
This case presents the question whether a front pay award is an element of compensatory damages under the Civil Rights Act of 1991. We conclude that it is not.

Robert Shaw v. Kevin Murphy
United State Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
April 18, 2001
Under our decision in Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78 (1987), restrictions on prisoners’ communications to other inmates are constitutional if the restrictions are “reasonably related to legitimate penological ... (read more)

Guy Mitchell et al. v. Mary L. Helms et al.
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 28, 2000
As part of a longstanding school aid program known as Chapter 2, the Federal Government distributes funds to state and local governmental agencies, which in turn lend educational materials and equipment ... (read more)

Harris Trust & Savings Bank, et al. v. Salomon Smith Barney, Inc.
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 12, 2000
Section 406(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 88 Stat. 879, bars a fiduciary of an employee benefit plan from causing the plan to engage in certain transactions with ... (read more)

Edward Christensen v. Harris County, Texas, et al.
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
May 1, 2000
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), 52 Stat. 1060, as amended, 29 U. S. C. §201 et seq. (1994 ed. and Supp. III), States and their political subdivisions may compensate their employees ... (read more)

David H. Baral v. United States
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
February 22, 2000
Internal Revenue Code §6511(b)(2)(A) imposes a ceiling on the amount of credit or refund to which a taxpayer is entitled as compensation for an overpayment of tax: “[T]he amount of the credit or refund ... (read more)

Robert A. Beck, II v. Ronald M. Prupis et al.
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
January 1, 2000
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U. S. C. §§1961–1968 (1994 ed. and Supp. IV), creates a civil cause of action for “[a]ny person injured in his business or property by ... (read more)

Teresa L. Cunningham v. Hamilton County, Ohio
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 14, 1999
Federal courts of appeals ordinarily have jurisdiction over appeals from “final decisions of the district courts.” 28 U.S.C. § 1291. This case presents the question whether an order imposing sanctions ... (read more)

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' Remarks to the National [Black] Bar Association
The New Coalition for Economic and Social Change
Justice Clarence Thomas
July 29, 1998
Thirty years ago, we all focused intently on this city as the trauma of Dr. King's death first exploded, then sank into our lives. For so many of us who were trying hard to do what we thought was required ... (read more)

Leroy L. Young, et al. v. Ernest Eugene Harper
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
March 18, 1997
This case presents the narrow question whether a program employed by the State of Oklahoma to reduce the overcrowding of its prisons was sufficiently like parole that a person in the program was entitled ... (read more)

Warner Jenkinson Company, Inc., v. Hilton Davis Chemical Co.
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
March 3, 1997
Nearly 50 years ago, this Court in Graver Tank & Mfg. Co. v. Linde Air Products Co., 339 U.S. 605 (1950), set out the modern contours of what is known in patent law as the "doctrine of equivalents." Under ... (read more)

Charles T. Robinson, Sr. v. Shell Oil Company
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
February 18, 1997
Section 704(a) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it unlawful "for an employer to discriminate against any of his employees or applicants for employment" who have either availed themselves ... (read more)

Robert E. Rubin, Secretary of Treasury v. Coor Brewing Company
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
April 19, 1995
In 1987, respondent applied to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), an agency of the Department of the Treasury, for approval of proposed labels and advertisements that disclosed the alcohol ... (read more)

Northeastern Florida Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America v. City of Jacksonville, Florida
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 14, 1993
In 1984, respondent Jacksonville, Florida, enacted an ordinance entitled "Minority Business Enterprise Participation," which required that 10% of the amount spent on city contracts be set aside each fiscal ... (read more)

Leonard Nobelman, et ux v. American Savings Bank
United State Supreme Cout
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 1, 1993
In 1984, respondent American Savings Bank loaned petitioners Leonard and Harriet Nobelman $68,250 for the purchase of their principal residence, a condominium in Dallas, Texas. In exchange, petitioners ... (read more)

Ellis B Wright, Jr., Warden and Mary Sue Terry Attorney General of Virginia v. Frank Robert West, Jr.
United States Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas
June 19, 1992
In this case, we must determine whether the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit correctly applied our decision in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979), in concluding that the evidence against ... (read more)