Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas is an American jurist who is currently serving as an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush and took his seat in 1991. Thomas is the only incumbent African-American justice on the court and the second one in history, after Thurgood Marshall, who was his predecessor. Prior to his career on the Supreme Court, he served as the chairman for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a judge on the District of Columbia circuit court.

His nomination was contentious and a woman named Anita Hill alleged sexual harassment against him. However, the allegations were never proven and he was confirmed by the Senate.

Unlike Marshall, Thomas is very conservative, arguably the most conservative on the current court. He rejects that the due process in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment guarantee the right to an abortion or engage in homosexual behavior, as he has opposed the ruling of Roe v. Wade and dissented in Lawrence v. Texas. Thomas espouses a strict constructionist view on the Commerce Clause to limit the power of the federal government to regulate intrastate activities. He also generally favor the law enforcement over criminal defendants in search and seizure cases.