Thursday, January 06, 2005

Chief Justice Clarence Thomas? Part II

FindLaw.com's Edward Lazarus presents a different view point on whether Clarence Thomas will be elevated to Chief Justice. Lazarus points out that Clarence Thomas is too much of a ideologue and soloist be an effective Chief Justice. Lazarus writes "As Chief, Thomas would frequently face the unpalatable choice of either compromising his own views, or letting the real lawmaking at the Court fall to other justices. Either way, his influence would be muted. A Chief Justice who frequently writes alone - as Thomas seems bent on doing - and whose view of the law is idiosyncratic - as Thomas's plainly is - may be Chief in name only." Thomas has written a large body of solo opinions and those opinions stake out positions that may appeal to the Bush administration and conservatives, Thomas' own desire to remain ideologically pure to his own convictions would not create a Court that would move, ever so slowly, in a direction the Administration would want.

FindLaw's Writ - Lazarus: Will Clarence Thomas Be the Court's Next Chief Justice?

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