Clarence Thomas Ditches GW Law School Post Amid Fury Over Roe Dismantling

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (Jonathan Newton /The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has withdrawn himself as an instructor at George Washington University Law School for the fall semester, the school confirmed on Wednesday.

“Justice Thomas informed GW Law that he is unavailable to co-teach a constitutional law seminar this fall,” George Washington University spokesperson Josh Grossman said in a statement. “The students were promptly informed of Justice Thomas’ decision by his co-instructor who will continue to offer the seminar this fall.”

The justice’s withdrawal was first reported by the school’s student newspaper, The GW Hatchet.

It’s unclear if Thomas, who has been teaching at GW Law since 2011, will return to his post after the fall: The school does “not have additional information to share regarding Justice Thomas’ teaching availability,” Grossman said.

The school didn’t offer an explanation for Thomas’ decision.

However, thousands of students have demanded GW Law fire Thomas in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, in which Thomas wrote an alarming concurring opinion suggesting that the high court should revisit other privacy-related cases, like same-sex marriage and contraception rights.

But university officials rejected calls to remove the justice, telling the school community in an email last month that “just as we affirm our commitment to academic freedom, we affirm the right of all members of our community to voice their opinions and contribute to the critical discussions that are foundational to our academic mission.”

As of Thursday morning, nearly 11,500 people had signed a petition calling for Thomas’ ouster, which cited both the conservative justice’s actions on the high court and the fact that his wife, Ginni Thomas, had played an active role in trying to help Trumpworld steal the election.

Jon Kay, the GWU student who started the petition, told the Washington Post that Thomas’ departure was a “massive victory.”

“We are going to continue to work to make sure he doesn’t come back in the spring semester,” the student said.

Latest News
185
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. Chalk it up to “personal responsibility.”

  2. I don’t agree with firing Thomas as a professor for his SC opinions. Luckily there’s a long list of legit reasons to sack him. Perjury, illegal flouting of ethics rules, and (likely) participation in a seditious conspiracy to overturn an election.

  3. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has withdrawn himself as an instructor at George Washington University Law School for the fall semester, the school confirmed on Wednesday.
    … … … …
    You brought it on yourself Clarence

  4. He’ll be too busy testifying for his wife, or throwing her under the bus.

  5. Well, this might be one thing Clarence Thomas has done that doesn’t suck.

    Think of all the money we will be saving on secret service protection.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

179 more replies

Participants

Avatar for ajm Avatar for playitagainrowlf Avatar for eggrollian Avatar for tigersharktoo Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for danny Avatar for joelopines Avatar for lastroth Avatar for gr Avatar for alyoshakaramazov1 Avatar for ifeveroheverawiztherewas Avatar for greylady Avatar for ken_k Avatar for va_dawg Avatar for fiftygigs Avatar for darrtown Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for nishna Avatar for demyankee Avatar for joce_m Avatar for demosthenes59 Avatar for eaharrison Avatar for txlawyer Avatar for philmore

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: