I Heart Con Law

I had a reminder last night of just what was so great about law school and why I will miss it. I watched an interview with Justice Thomas on 60 Minutes. It reminded me that the days are gone when it was a preferred use of my time to sit around drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes, and discussing the philosophies of Supreme Court Justices. Or dissecting one of Justice Thomas's less-than-stellar concurrences over pancakes. While I love talking politics, there is really not much I love more than a close read and discussion of an important SCOTUS opinion and trying to figure out why the Justices lined up like they did. Yeah, lame, I know. So you can see why I am feeling sad that law school is no more.

My job is great, but none of my clients know who Clarence Thomas is, let alone want to spend a couple of hours chatting about his hypocritical philosophy. To whom do I turn? Off hand, my dad is a lawyer who reads too many periodicals to count and my wife is a law student, so they seems like pretty good options to re-create the glory days of law school (minus the stress and final exams).

Interesting points about the Thomas interview. He has a booming, commanding voice that makes you want to listen closer -- too bad he never speaks in oral arguments. When asked about Anita Hill, he stuck by describing it as a high-tech lynching and then said that it paved the way for the witch hunt-like investigation into Bill Clinton's antics some years later. Huh. I guess they are similar in some ways, and I was impressed that Thomas, who usually prefers unfair characterizations of all Democrats and liberals, would make those connections and relate himself to Bill Clinton. Of course, the big difference is that Clinton came clean and admitted what he did, while Thomas stands by his denials. And that Bill Clinton is my hero, and Clarence Thomas is not.

Finally, while Thomas answered some questions evasively or with a "Oh, come on, that's silly" (I mean, if it's that silly, just answer the damn question and let's move on...), he was overall very well-spoken, articulate, and intelligent-sounding. I don't say that because I'm necessarily surprised by it, but it is just another reason I am so fascinated by the SCOTUS. Even the guy that is considered by many to be the dumbest, least-qualified guy on the High Court is eloquent and probably smarter than most people in the world. Except Bill Clinton. Nobody is smarter than him.

Please note that Clarence Thomas drives a motor home. I wonder if he won it on The Price is Right.