Clarence Thomas Joins Liberals, Shocks World

[jaysunb]

On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision holding that two congressional districts in North Carolina were racially gerrymandered in violation of the Constitution. The broad ruling will likely have ripple effects on litigation across the country, helping plaintiffs establish that state legislatures unlawfully injected race into redistricting. And, in a welcome change, the decision did not split along familiar ideological lines: Justice Clarence Thomas joined the four liberal justices to create a majority, following his race-blind principles of equal protection to an unusually progressive result.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/05/in_cooper_v_harris_the_supreme_court_strikes_a_blow_against_racial_redistricting.html

[BigmanPigman]

1. He may have just redeemed himself (very slightly however).

[Quixote1818]

2. Maybe Trump has pushed him over the edge and opened his eyes a bit? nt

[arthritisR_US]

5. I think you may be on to something, maybe the orange

shitgibbon can be good for something

[Skittles]

7. maybe the Garland / Gorsuch thing got to him

who knows? Glad to see him acting like a human being for a change.

[burrowowl]

15. Maybe it is a TIA

but maybe he has come to his senses. Only time will tell.

[lastlib]

12. Maybe he had to actually think for himself, now that Fat Tony is gone...

...though I would have supposed Clarence would have held a seance to at least try to contact him.

[rpannier]

16. Actually, if you study the history and AJ Thomas' voting record

this is exactly in line with what he has thought for over 20 years
It's just that, his opinions were viewed as opposed to affirmative action and the rights of the minorities.As the article points out, the left discovered that Easley and Shaw actually worked against progressive movement because it allowed the kind of outrageous gerrymandering that has gone on in places like NC

[CentralMass]

3. Well, in Whoville they say that the Grinchs small heart grew three sizes that day.

[Cha]

4. Wow.. That's is shocking..

certainly could use some good news now. I bet the Fascistrumps are Shocked too!

Mahalo, Jay

[jaysunb]

30. +1 n/t

[Skittles]

6. I never thought I would say this

thank you Clarence Thomas

[Volaris]

8. Perhaps he gets to have his own opinions now that Antonin is dead?

[JI7]

10. i actually think this does have a lot to do with it

we always made fun of him by saying he did whatever scalia told him to but i think that was more truth than joke.

[progressoid]

11. +1

[Madam45for2923]

20. Like a marriage where one spouse dies & it frees the other be their real selves and think their own

thoughts and make up their own minds.

[AwakeAtLast]

31. I wondered the exact same thing. n/t

[JI7]

9. i thought this was going to be something involving porn

[longship]

21. Long Dong Silver!

Too bad there's no YouTube clips of the SNL skit.

Google "Long dong Silver Thomas" and you'll find SNL and C-SPAN hearings.

[Hortensis]

13. Wonderful! How may this affect 2018?

And there's another, much bigger jerrymandering challenge coming.

Next term, the Supreme Court will almost certainly hear Gill v. Whitford, a challenge to partisan redistricting alleging that the practice discriminates on the basis of political association, violating voters’ free-speech and equal-protection rights. The outcome of that case could permanently alter American politics by proscribing either party from using political gerrymanders to seize and maintain a legislative monopoly. Harris was a satisfying appetizer. But Whitford will be the main course.

Btw, I love that this case was brought to SCOTUS by (some currently extremely unhappy!) right-wingers trying to reinforce subversion of democracy.

[Calista241]

24. I read that it won't actually affect the distribution of seats.

Republican will still have control of 10 of the 13 NC Congressional districts.

[Hamlette]

14. I would NEVER have guess Thomas would side with the liberals, especially on this issue.

hell froze over? Is he such an ideologue that he can't stand Trump might not be a true conservative? (He sure has governed that way so far). Soul searching? Converted to ESP?

[ATL Ebony]

17. Say What???? The world's definitely coming to an end.

[rpannier]

18. Don't know why people are surprised

He voted the same way he did 20+ years ago in Shaw v Hunt
It's just back then, the liberal wing supported the gerrymandered districts and the conservatives did not
So it failed
He also voted the same way in Easley (2001). O' Connor flipped in that one, so it passed
He's been consistent on this

[Amishman]

26. This, the ruling is consistent with his principles

While I strongly disagree with darn near all of his beliefs, I will give Thomas credit in that he follows them regardless of the political outcome.

[nkpolitics1212]

19. Isn't Anthony Kennedy suppose to be a swing vote?

Ginsburg,Breyer,Kagen,and Sotomayor are the Liberal jurists.
Roberts,Alito,Gorsuch,and Thomas are the Conservative Jurists.

[wildeyed]

22. It's consistent with his past votes.

12th district was gerrymandered by Democrats to yield a black representative, back in the bad old days when white Southern Dems wouldn't vote for black Dems. Thomas voted against that too, so he's being consistent, at least.

According to Election Law post, the loss of Kennedy is the more unexpected

http://electionlawblog.org/?p=92707

[Orsino]

23. Apparently there are limits to the number of civil rights he will destroy.

Good to know.

[Baitball Blogger]

25. .

[BlancheSplanchnik]

27. Like all conservatives, he only "gets it" when he's personally affected

They only relate/identity with people the same as them, the same struggles.

[TheFrenchRazor]

33. well put. n

[GBizzle]

28. Crazy thought: It would be hilarious if Thomas voted with the liberals now.

He doesn't have Scalia to lead him around by the nose any more, and it would be so funny to see the Republicans go nuts after all the bullshit they pulled putting Gorsuch on the court.

Bush Sr., after all, did appoint David Souter. So it's not completely outside the realm of possibility.

[Shrek]

29. It's consistent with his past opinions on similar issues

It's the other justices who are all over the place.

[colsohlibgal]

32. His Svengali Is Gone

Without Scalia in his ear he may actually be thinking more clearly. I hope it keeps up.

[steve2470]

34. stopped clock, pigs fly, Satan straps on ice skates... Thanks Justice Thomas! nt