A modest jurist
October 26, 2007| By Nathaniel Ward
“I’m just an ordinary person to whom extraordinary things have happened.”
That’s perhaps the most important message Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas explained to thousands of Heritage Foundation members and supporters in a series of events over the past week. And it’s a key theme in his New York Times-bestselling memoir, My Grandfather’s Son.
Buy the book today on Amazon.com.
Watch a video of Justice Thomas speaking to the New York Area Committee for Heritage.
He also reaffirmed his belief in the proper role of judges. For example, when asked in Omaha about the importance to Constitutional law of various theories of racism and sexism, he said a judge should follow the law and only the law. And he said Supreme Court justices should listen to both sides of the argument with less interruption; “sounding smart” is not in a justice’s job description, he joked.
Justice Thomas’ book tour, sponsored by The Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society, the National Center for Policy Analysis and Harper Collins, drew large audiences in New York, Atlanta, Omaha, Chicago and Dallas.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.
