news
03-04-2016, 09:20 PM
Justice Clarence Thomas stunned America earlier this week when he broke his 10-year streak of silence (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=entry/clarence-thomas-gun-rights_us_56d46b25e4b0871f60ec0c61) from the Supreme Court bench.
On Friday, the court released the audio of that moment, which came during oral argument in Voisine v. United States (http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/voisine-v-united-states/), a case dealing with a federal law that prohibits certain domestic violence offenders (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=entry/supreme-court-lite-domestic-abusers-own-guns_us_56cf6822e4b0871f60eaa82b) from possessing firearms.
"This is a misdemeanor violation. It suspends a constitutional right. Can you give me another area where a misdemeanor violation suspends a constitutional right?" Thomas asked, referring to the Second Amendment right to bear arms. It was one of about 10 questions the justice asked.
Only a couple of hundred people -- plus a few media outlets, including The Huffington Post -- were in the courtroom for what was expected to be a slow news day. Major media such as The New York Times, USA Today and The Washington Post missed out (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/insider/justice-thomas-talks-people-listen-reporters-notebook.html?_r=0) on it.
Thomas has offered a few rationales for his silence (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=entry/justice-thomas-hasnt-uttered-a-word-from-the-bench-in-10-years_us_56afd8a4e4b09214b14f4307) over the years, including that it's rude to incessantly interrupt lawyers arguing before the Supreme Court and that asking so many questions is "unnecessary" because those lawyers do "most of their work" in the legal briefs they file ahead of oral arguments.
You can listen to the audio above.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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On Friday, the court released the audio of that moment, which came during oral argument in Voisine v. United States (http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/voisine-v-united-states/), a case dealing with a federal law that prohibits certain domestic violence offenders (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=entry/supreme-court-lite-domestic-abusers-own-guns_us_56cf6822e4b0871f60eaa82b) from possessing firearms.
"This is a misdemeanor violation. It suspends a constitutional right. Can you give me another area where a misdemeanor violation suspends a constitutional right?" Thomas asked, referring to the Second Amendment right to bear arms. It was one of about 10 questions the justice asked.
Only a couple of hundred people -- plus a few media outlets, including The Huffington Post -- were in the courtroom for what was expected to be a slow news day. Major media such as The New York Times, USA Today and The Washington Post missed out (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/insider/justice-thomas-talks-people-listen-reporters-notebook.html?_r=0) on it.
Thomas has offered a few rationales for his silence (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=entry/justice-thomas-hasnt-uttered-a-word-from-the-bench-in-10-years_us_56afd8a4e4b09214b14f4307) over the years, including that it's rude to incessantly interrupt lawyers arguing before the Supreme Court and that asking so many questions is "unnecessary" because those lawyers do "most of their work" in the legal briefs they file ahead of oral arguments.
You can listen to the audio above.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247393631057/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4e0b4cae/sc/7/rc/1/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247393631057/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4e0b4cae/sc/7/rc/1/rc.htm)
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247393631057/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4e0b4cae/sc/7/rc/2/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247393631057/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4e0b4cae/sc/7/rc/2/rc.htm)
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More... (http://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/c/35496/f/677045/s/4e0b4cae/sc/7/l/0L0Shuffingtonpost0N0C20A160C0A30C0A40Cjustice0Ecl arence0Ethomas0Espeaks0Eaudio0In0I93870A30A0Bhtml/story01.htm)