Report on Judge Thomas

Here is an 80-page report on Clarence Thomas written for the Washington Legal Foundation at the time of his nomination to the Supreme Court. It was written by lawyers who, at the time, worked for Covington & Burling, one of the most prestigious and well-respected DC law firms. (The lawyers included Charles Rule, Thomas Christina, Deborah Garza, Michael Socarras, and James Tennies.)

The report contains the most lengthy and detailed analysis that I've ever seen of Justice Thomas's opinions from the D.C. Circuit. It's followed by an exploration of the many comments that Justice Thomas had made regarding natural law (more on that in a subsequent post).

Among the report's conclusions:

• Judge Thomas's personal and professional qualifications place him in the first rank of American lawyers and qualify him to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
  
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• Judge Thomas's opinions reflect his outstanding qualities as a jurist: the ability to master complex areas of the law, clarity of expression, persuasiveness, and dedication to resolving cases on the basis of explicitly articulated rules of law.

Here is Charles Rule's statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee.