A quiet justice
For most lawyers, the ultimate achievement is to argue before the United States Supreme Court. Lawyers spend hundreds of hours working on the briefs, and preparing for the argument. You expect the justices to pepper you with questions, and try to anticipate what they are going to ask. Most lawyers will even set up mock arguments to find out the best way to handle questions. Few lawyers expect to actually get into their argument, and try to advance the arguments through their answers. Not having appeared before the Court, I assumed all the Justices got involved. As a result, I was surprised to learn that Justice Clarence Thomas is the exception. According to a recent article, he has gone two years and more than 142 cases without asking a question. According to Justice Thomas, he believes he can do the job without asking a question.
