{"id":2492826,"date":"2025-09-30T11:28:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T15:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thomas-scotus-must-follow-constitution-not-bad-precedent\/"},"modified":"2025-09-30T11:31:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T15:31:07","slug":"thomas-scotus-must-follow-constitution-not-bad-precedent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thomas-scotus-must-follow-constitution-not-bad-precedent\/","title":{"rendered":"Thomas: SCOTUS Must Follow Constitution, Not Bad Precedent"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/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%2Fthomas-scotus-must-follow-constitution-not-bad-precedent%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=2492826&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>Associate Justice Clarence Thomas recently spoke at Catholic University Law School about the Supreme Court&#8217;s constitutional role, emphasizing that the Court should not follow past precedents blindly (stare decisis) if those decisions conflict with the Constitution. He criticized the notion of treating stare decisis as an unquestionable principle, likening it to a train where no one checks who is driving or where it&#8217;s headed. Thomas highlighted that judicial decisions must respect America&#8217;s legal tradition and founding document rather than rely on flawed or invented reasoning.<\/p>\n<p>He referenced the Court&#8217;s recent willingness to overturn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-kavanagh-and-gorsuch-didnt-lie-to-the-senate\/\" title=\"No, Kavanagh and Gorsuch Didn\u2019t Lie To The Senate\">longstanding precedents<\/a>, such as *Roe v. Wade* and *Chevron* deference, arguing that justices have a duty to ensure rulings align with constitutional principles rather than perpetuate incorrect precedents. Thomas cited ancient examples like *Plessy v. Ferguson*, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/politico-claims-to-have-obtained-scotus-draft-opinion-overturning-roe-v-wade\/\" title=\"POLITICO Claims To Have Obtained SCOTUS Draft Opinion Overturning Roe v. Wade\">deeply flawed decision<\/a> that was rightly overturned in *Brown v. board of Education*, to demonstrate the necessity of reexamining precedent when it contradicts constitutional rights.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, Thomas affirmed that judges should interpret the Constitution according to its original meaning and the nation&#8217;s legal traditions, instead of adhering to prior rulings that were erroneous or legally unsound.  <\/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<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8Q0mcPltXKI\">Pepperdine Caruso School of Law\/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/30\/justice-thomas-is-right-scotus-has-an-obligation-to-the-constitution-not-bad-precedent\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Justice%20Thomas%20Is%20Right.%20SCOTUS%20Has%20An%20Obligation%20To%20The%20Constitution,%20Not%20Bad%20Precedent&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/30\/justice-thomas-is-right-scotus-has-an-obligation-to-the-constitution-not-bad-precedent\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Justice%20Thomas%20Is%20Right.%20SCOTUS%20Has%20An%20Obligation%20To%20The%20Constitution,%20Not%20Bad%20Precedent&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/30\/justice-thomas-is-right-scotus-has-an-obligation-to-the-constitution-not-bad-precedent\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/30\/justice-thomas-is-right-scotus-has-an-obligation-to-the-constitution-not-bad-precedent\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Justice%20Thomas%20Is%20Right.%20SCOTUS%20Has%20An%20Obligation%20To%20The%20Constitution,%20Not%20Bad%20Precedent&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/30\/justice-thomas-is-right-scotus-has-an-obligation-to-the-constitution-not-bad-precedent\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Associate Justice Clarence Thomas has often served as critical voice of reason on the U.S. Supreme Court. So, it wasn&rsquo;t a surprise when he delivered a much-needed dose of reality about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-overturns-chevron-doctrine-upends-administrative-state\/\" title=\"SCOTUS Overturns Chevron Doctrine, Upends Administrative State\">high court&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s constitutional role during a rare public appearance late last week. <\/p>\n<p>Speaking at the Catholic University Law School, the current court&rsquo;s longest-serving member <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3826147\/clarence-thomas-defends-overruling-precedents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a> discussed the Supreme Court&rsquo;s overturning of longstanding precedents in several of its recent decisions. He specifically tackled the subject of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/wex\/stare_decisis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stare decisis<\/a>, arguing that the high court should not blindly follow past precedents without considering whether those decisions adhere to the Constitution.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1483004296\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;At some point we need to think about what we&rsquo;re doing with stare decisis,&rdquo; Thomas said in reference to the legal doctrine of abiding by past decisions. &ldquo;And it&rsquo;s not some sort of talismanic deal where you can just say &lsquo;stare decisis&rsquo; and not think, turn off the brain, right?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>As described by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/thomas-signals-no-slowdown-to-precedent-purge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Courthouse News<\/a>, Thomas went on to characterize adherence to stare decisis as &ldquo;a series of cars on a long train,&rdquo; wherein new SCOTUS cases &ldquo;become additional cars, following the train wherever it&rsquo;s going.&rdquo; The H.W. Bush appointee notably said, &ldquo;We never go to the front to see who&rsquo;s driving the train or where it is going, and you could go up there to the engine room and find out it&rsquo;s an orangutan.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Thomas&rsquo; most impactful remarks, however, centered on the Supreme Court&rsquo;s obligation to the rule of law. While acknowledging the fallibility of judges, the justice noted that regardless of what precedent is established, that precedent must abide by America&rsquo;s founding document and the country&rsquo;s &ldquo;legal tradition.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think that I have the gospel,&rdquo; Thomas <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/justice-clarence-thomas-legal-precedents-gospel\/story?id=125967044\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>, &ldquo;that any of these cases that have been decided are the gospel, and I do give perspective to the precedent. But it should &mdash; the precedent should be respectful of our legal tradition, and our country, and our laws, and be based on something, not just something somebody dreamt up and others went along with.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, the Supreme Court has taken a sledgehammer to longstanding precedents that lacked adherence to the Constitution and existing statutes &mdash; the overturning of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/roe-v-wade\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Roe v. Wade<\/a><\/em>  and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/01\/scotus-opinions-indicate-the-death-of-the-administrative-state-is-just-beginning\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Chevron<\/em> deference<\/a> being among them. Such decisions have unsurprisingly angered American leftists, who had for decades <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/11\/if-leftists-cant-weaponize-scotus-they-will-do-everything-to-destroy-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">relied upon<\/a> the court to enshrine their radical agenda into law via legally dubious rulings. <\/p>\n<p>Yet, for all their outrage, the left&rsquo;s antagonism toward SCOTUS doesn&rsquo;t make Thomas&rsquo; points any less true. In fact, his analysis of stare decisis is exactly the view every justice should hold when examining important legal questions before the court. <\/p>\n<p>Take, for example, the Supreme Court&rsquo;s 1896 <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/1850-1900\/163us537\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Plessy v. Ferguson<\/a><\/em>  decision, in which a majority of justices <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/1850-1900\/163us537\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">upheld<\/a> state-enforced racial segregation under the guise of &ldquo;separate but equal.&rdquo; Of course, the decision was completely at odds with the 14th Amendment and represented a gross infringement upon the constitutional rights of black Americans. <\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, that precedent was eventually overturned in the high court&rsquo;s 1954 <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/1940-1955\/347us483\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Brown v. Board of Education<\/a><\/em>  ruling. But the fact remains that had the court adopted the view of strict proponents of stare decisis &mdash; that longstanding precedent cannot be reexamined &mdash; the horrific &ldquo;separate but equal&rdquo; doctrine would have been allowed to stand. <\/p>\n<p>As Thomas so eloquently demonstrated, it is not the job of judges or justices to abide by wrong precedent, but by the Constitution and existing law. And that means interpreting these documents in line with their original meanings and not inventing new provisions out of thin air through unsound legal arguments. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >state content writer<\/a> for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/clarence-thomas\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Clarence Thomas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/judiciary\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">judiciary<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/jurisprudence\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">jurisprudence<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/originalism\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">originalism<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/precedent\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">precedent<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/scotus\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SCOTUS<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/stare-decisis\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">stare decisis<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image Credit Pepperdine Caruso School of Law\/YouTube Share<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2492827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Clarence-Thomas.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[8062,46186,6994,32275,10215],"class_list":["post-2492826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-constitution","tag-legal-precedent","tag-scotus","tag-supreme-court","tag-thomas"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Clarence-Thomas.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492826","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\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2492826"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2492830,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492826\/revisions\/2492830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2492827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2492826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2492826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2492826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}