Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Judicial Philosophy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Stevens recalls meeting Justice Clarence Thomas, praises originalist approach
Summary
Judge David Stevens said he admires U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for originalist reasoning and recounted meeting him at a Federalist Society event in the 1990s.
Asked which U.S. Supreme Court justice he admires, Judge David Stevens named Clarence Thomas, praising his adherence to original meaning and writing. Stevens suggested Thomas's concurrence in a Voting Rights Act case exemplified that approach.
Stevens also related a personal anecdote from a Federalist Society trip to Washington, D.C., saying he was assigned to parking-lot duty and later 'realized I'm talking to Clarence Thomas' when Thomas arrived in a Corvette and carried a case of beer. "The beer stays with me, but you can carry the chips," Stevens quoted Thomas as saying during the encounter, using the anecdote to humanize the justice he commended.
