On Monday, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas asked a question during Monday’s Supreme Court arguments in which two men challenged the law banning them from gun ownership due to their domestic violence charges, according to NBC News. This is crazy news, because Justice Thomas has not asked a question in court in 10 years. He just broke a decade of silence.
Justice Thomas asked a series of questions of a government lawyer, Ilana Eisenstein, who was defending a federal law stating that anyone with a misdemeanor from a domestic violence conviction cannot own a gun. He asked, “Can you give me another area where a misdemeanor violation suspends a constitutional right?”
Justice Thomas then followed up: “Can you think of another constitutional right that can be suspended based upon a misdemeanor violation of a state law?” As Justice Thomas and Eisenstein debated, NBC reports that Thomas asked ten questions overall, shocking courtroom attendees who were used to the Justice’s quiet demeanor.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Justice Thomas often remained silent as a way of respect for the lawyers, in order to not add to the interruptions that they usually receive during proceedings. This all comes after news of the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, who was well known for being outspoken in the courtroom.