Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate by a vote of 52–48. Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Supreme Court, after Thurgood Marshall, and is the longest-serving justice on the current court.

Thomas was born in Pin Point, Georgia, and grew up in Savannah. He attended the College of the Holy Cross and Yale Law School. After graduating from law school, he worked as a law clerk for Judge Constance Baker Motley of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He then served as an assistant United States attorney in Maryland and as a staff attorney for the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan nominated Thomas to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 78–18. Thomas served on the D.C. Circuit for nine years before being nominated to the Supreme Court.

Thomas's nomination to the Supreme Court was controversial. He was accused of sexual harassment by Anita Hill, a former employee of his at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Thomas denied the allegations, and he was eventually confirmed by the Senate.

Thomas is a conservative justice who has often voted with the court's other conservative justices, including Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, and John Roberts. He has been a strong critic of affirmative action and has also opposed abortion rights.

Thomas is married to Virginia Lamp Thomas, a conservative activist. They have one child, a son named Jamal Adeen Thomas.

Clarence Thomas has been a controversial figure throughout his career. He has been praised by some for his strong conservative views, while others have criticized him for his alleged sexual harassment and his opposition to abortion rights. Nonetheless, Thomas remains a powerful and influential voice on the Supreme Court.