{"id":2491676,"date":"2025-09-26T17:18:01","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T21:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/clarence-thomas-defends-supreme-court-overruling-precedents\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T17:21:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T21:21:38","slug":"clarence-thomas-defends-supreme-court-overruling-precedents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/clarence-thomas-defends-supreme-court-overruling-precedents\/","title":{"rendered":"Clarence Thomas defends Supreme Court overruling precedents"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fclarence-thomas-defends-supreme-court-overruling-precedents%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2491676&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas&#8217;s defense of the Court&#8217;s recent decisions to overturn longstanding legal precedents. Speaking at Catholic University Law School, Thomas emphasized that the Court should not automatically follow precedents (stare decisis) if those rulings do not align with the law or the country&#8217;s legal traditions. He cited the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of education decision, which overturned the earlier Plessy v.Ferguson ruling, as a proper example of rejecting precedent for justice.<\/p>\n<p>Recently, the Supreme Court has overturned precedents related to abortion, affirmative action, and administrative law. In the upcoming term starting October 6,the Court plans to here cases that could overturn precedents on redistricting and the removal of independent agency heads. <\/p>\n<p>The case Louisiana v. Callais will address whether creating a second Black-majority congressional district violates constitutional amendments, potentially overturning the 1986 Thornburg v. Gingles decision that governs voting rights challenges. In Trump v.Slaughter, the Court will consider President Trump&#8217;s attempt to remove an independent Federal Trade Commission commissioner without cause, possibly overturning the nearly 90-year-old Humphrey&#8217;s Executor ruling that limits presidential firing powers over agency heads. Arguments for Louisiana v. Callais are scheduled for October 15, and trump v. Slaughter will be heard in December.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas&#8217;s comments reflect a broader judicial approach that prioritizes law and tradition over rigid adherence to past decisions. <br \/> <!DOCTYPE html><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Clarence Thomas defends overruling precedents with recent Supreme Court rulings<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2256592\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Justice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/clarence-thomas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Clarence Thomas<\/a> defended the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Supreme Court<\/a>&lsquo;s recent rulings overturning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/she-did-not-do-her-homework-former-gorsuch-law-clerk-obliterates-claim-justices-misled-susan-collins\/\" title=\"\u2018She Did Not Do Her Homework\u2019: Former Gorsuch ... Clerk Obliterates Claim ...s \u2018Misled\u2019 Susan Collins\">long-standing precedents<\/a> of the high court, as the justices appear poised to overturn a 90-year-old precedent in their upcoming term.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas argued, while speaking at Catholic University Law School, that the high court should not blindly follow precedents to guide current rulings if the established rulings do not respect the law or the country&rsquo;s legal tradition.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3825043\/lisa-cook-friend-of-the-court-brief-federal-reserve-governors\/\">Former Federal Reserve chairs file &#8216;friend-of-the-court&#8217; brief in favor of Lisa Cook<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3824141\/trump-administration-supreme-court-race-based-redistricting-louisiana\/\">Trump administration asks Supreme Court to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-admin-asks-supreme-court-to-strike-race-based-redistricting\/\" title=\"... admin asks ... to strike race...based redistricting\">overturn race-based redistricting<\/a> in Louisiana case<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3820486\/advocates-warn-colorado-conversion-therapy-ban-supreme-court-blatant-censorship\/\">Advocates warn Colorado &#8216;conversion therapy&#8217; ban in Supreme Court case is &#8216;blatant censorship&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not some sort of automatic deal where you can just say, &lsquo;Stare decisis,&rsquo; and then turn off the brain,&rdquo;&nbsp;Thomas said Thursday evening, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/thomas-signals-no-slowdown-to-precedent-purge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">per<\/a> <em>Courthouse News<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, the Supreme Court has overturned long-standing precedents regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2875629\/supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade-paving-way-for-state-abortion-bans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">abortion law<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2578872\/supreme-court-bans-affirmative-action-in-ruling-against-race-conscious-college-admissions-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">affirmative action<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3045084\/supreme-court-shreds-chevron-doctrine-in-blow-to-agency-powers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">administrative agency law<\/a>, among others. The high court will also hear a pair of cases in the coming months, which could result in overturning other long-standing precedents.<\/p>\n<p>While recent major decisions have created headlines, it is not uncommon in the high court&rsquo;s history for key precedents to be overruled decades later. One of the most famous examples includes the Supreme Court&rsquo;s 1954 ruling in <em>Brown v. Board of Education<\/em>, which ruled racial segregation was unconstitutional, overturning the infamous 1896 ruling in <em>Plessy v. Ferguson<\/em>, which had previously deemed it lawful. <\/p>\n<p>Thomas cited the <em>Brown<\/em> decision as an example in which the high court correctly declined to defer to stare decisis, or the legal principle of following a court&rsquo;s precedent to guide a ruling.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I do give respect to the precedent, but the precedent should be respectful of our legal tradition and our country and our laws and be based on something,&rdquo; Thomas said.<\/p>\n<p>In the high court&rsquo;s upcoming term, which begins on Oct. 6, the justices will consider two cases that could overturn long-standing precedents in redistricting law and the firing of independent agency heads.<\/p>\n<p>With the case <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/in_focus\/3805459\/supreme-court-poised-shake-up-midterm-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Louisiana v. Callais<\/a><\/em>, the Supreme Court will determine whether Louisiana&rsquo;s creation of a second <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >black-majority congressional district<\/a> was unconstitutional under the 14th or 15th Amendments. The ruling could weaken the ability for legal challenges to be brought over congressional maps under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, possibly overturning the high court&rsquo;s 1986 ruling in&nbsp;<em>Thornburg v. Gingles<\/em>, which set the current parameters for those legal challenges.<\/p>\n<p>The other case that could overturn a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-black-democrat-governor-of-virginia-blasts-democrat-candidate-terry-mcauliffe-over-racism-scandal\/\" title=\"Former Black Democrat Governor Of Virginia Blasts Democrat Candidate Terry McAuliffe Over Racism Scandal\">long-standing precedent<\/a> is <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3818917\/supreme-court-to-hear-ftc-firing-lawsuit-challenge-humphreys-executor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump v. Slaughter<\/a><\/em>, in which President Donald Trump is seeking to fire a Democrat-appointed Federal Trade Commission commissioner without cause. The case marked the third time an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-faces-continued-legal-fights-over-firing-independent-agency-heads\/\" title=\"... faces continued legal fights over ... ...s\">independent agency firing<\/a> had reached the Supreme Court&rsquo;s emergency docket, with the justices allowing the previous two sets of firings to continue in the interim.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3818917\/supreme-court-to-hear-ftc-firing-lawsuit-challenge-humphreys-executor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SUPREME COURT TO HEAR FTC FIRING LAWSUIT TEEING UP CHALLENGE TO 90-YEAR-OLD PRECEDENT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The justices opted to take up the <em>Slaughter<\/em> case before it had made its way through the lower courts and could be poised to overturn the high court&rsquo;s 1935 ruling in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3343081\/humphreys-executor-supreme-court-precedent-trump-wants-overturned\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Humphrey&rsquo;s Executor v. United States<\/a><\/em>, which restricts when a president may fire an independent agency head.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court will hear arguments in <em>Louisiana v. Callais<\/em> on Oct. 15, while the high court has said it will hear <em>Trump v. Slaughter<\/em> in December.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Clarence Thomas supports overturning outdated Supreme Court precedents<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2491677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AP25268855913778.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[34632,56628,64133,32275],"class_list":["post-2491676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-clarence-thomas","tag-judicial-philosophy","tag-overruling-precedents","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AP25268855913778.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2491676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2491676"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2491676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2491680,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2491676\/revisions\/2491680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2491677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2491676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2491676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2491676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}