Tuesday marked five years since Justice Clarence Thomas last asked a question during the Supreme Court's oral arguments.
Thomas speaks in the court only on the few occasions during the year when he is called upon to read a decision. Throughout his nearly 20 years on the bench, he has sat silently and watched as his colleagues quiz the lawyers on their cases.
When asked to explain his silence, Thomas has said the oral arguments are unnecessary to deciding the cases, and perhaps even a sideshow. The justices rely on the written briefs and the lower-court opinions in making their decisions, he says. He has also suggested that more of his colleagues should follow his example, rather than interrupt the lawyers who making their arguments.
"So why do you beat up on people if you already know? I don't beat up on them. I refuse to participate. I don't like it, so I don't do it," he told law students at the University of Alabama two years ago.
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