A Conversation with Justice Clarence Thomas

Abstract

The Center for the Constitution and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CIT) opened its academic year of programming by hosting a conversation with a Supreme Court Justice. On Thursday, September 25th, CIT welcomed Justice Clarence Thomas to address faculty, students, and alumni of Catholic Law. The conversation was moderated by CIT Affiliated Fellow Jennifer Mascott, an Associate Professor of Law with Catholic Law, nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and a former law clerk for Justice Thomas. Prof. Mascott then began the conversation with Justice Thomas on a personal note of admiration, praising his “warmth and heart for people of all walks of life,” as well as his tremendous jurisprudential impact. Catholic education quickly became a central theme of the conversation, as the Justice described both his upbringing and his approach to law. He attributed his career and success to the nuns that taught him–“my nuns,” as he referred to them. “It’s their victory.” He described how their perseverance, as well as his grandfather’s example of faith and gratitude, instilled in him a disposition of humility that defines his service on the Supreme Court