Thomas Reflects on ‘Deeper’ Bonds During Early High Court Tenure

Clarence Thomas misses the justices with whom he served early in his tenure on the US Supreme Court.

“The friendships I made and the bonds were much, much deeper than, I think, I’m able to form now,” Thomas said Thursday at a judicial conference in Aventura, Florida. “I came of age on that court.”

Thomas, who last week became the second-longest-ever serving justice, said the high court bench that served together for 11 years “will always be my favorite.”

He was referring to the period when he served alongside Chief Justice William Rehnquist as well as Justices John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O’Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer between 1994 and 2005.

“Some of the members of the court had children older than I was, and yet they treated me very fairly,” Thomas told the Eleventh Circuit conference. The 77-year-old noted he had “just turned 43" when President George H. W. Bush nominated him in 1991.

Thomas said he doesn’t like to compare that experience to the current court on which the last four members served as clerks during his tenure as a justice. The current group is a “different court now,” he said of the bench on which he is one of six conservative members.

“There is a big difference between a court where you’ve known the members as law clerks versus being the junior justice, in so many ways. And the relationships are different, even though they’re not negative in any way,” he said.

Thomas also recounted how security concerns have heightened recently, which have prevented him from attending sporting events and hosting a field trip to Gettysburg with his clerks.

Threats have increased in recent years, from 403 against federal judges logged in fiscal 2022 to 564 last fiscal year, according to government data. The US Marshals Service started protecting the justices at their residences round-the-clock after a person was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Maryland residence in 2022 who admitted to planning to assassinate him.

“That’s really one of the big changes since I’ve come on the court. It’s become very, very dicey,” Thomas said.

The conversation was moderated by Kasdin Mitchell, a former Thomas clerk who was announced Monday as President Donald Trump’s pick to be a Texas federal judge.

Thomas’ remarks weren’t the first time he’s waxed nostalgic about his earlier tenure on the high court. Last month, Thomas suggested the court isn’t as collegial as it was when he joined.

“I joined the court that dealt with differences as friends. We respected each other,” he said in an April 15 appearance at the University of Texas. “That civility, I don’t know how you bring it back in the current environment with social media and name-calling and people accusing each other of various things and animus.”