Justice Thomas Makes It Clear He’s Not Happy With Supremes Who Rejected Florida Lawsuit
Justice Clarence Thomas doesn’t say much during oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court. He’s also got a calm demeanor and a hearty laugh. He knows the Constitution like the back of his hand. So when a decision is made that seems injurious to the nation’s founding document, he responds like a parent trying to protect a child. Thomas took other justices to task on Tuesday after a majority of the court refused to hear a lawsuit brought by Florida against Washington and California: Justice Clarence Thomas accused California and Washington of undermining federal immigration and trucking safety standards after a deadly Florida highway crash, blasting the Supreme Court on Tuesday for refusing to hear a case Florida had “nowhere else to bring. ” Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, said the Supreme Court had a constitutional obligation to hear the dispute because lawsuits between states can only be brought before the high court.
“If this Court does not exercise jurisdiction over a controversy between two States, then the complaining State has no judicial forum in which to seek relief,” Thomas wrote. Thomas argued that Florida’s allegations against Washington and California were serious because failing to follow federal commercial licensing laws can create dangerous road conditions and, he said, has contributed to deadly crashes. People in the country illegally who can’t read road signs in English can’t be allowed to drive 80,000-pound tractor-trailers on American highways, he said. “Federal law and regulations prohibit States from providing commercial driver’s licenses to applicants unless they pass a driver’s test, sufficiently understand the English language, and show appropriate immigration status,” Thomas noted.
Thomas Argues Supreme Court Has Constitutional Obligation
“We have no more right to decline the exercise of jurisdiction which is given, than to usurp that which is not given,” Thomas wrote. He’s right, of course. Florida now has no other recourse to pursue legal claims for the deaths of three of its residents. So not only were those deaths in vain, the two blue states who issued the Indian trucker a license get off scot-free. More than that, we have seven justices who think it’s okay to ignore a basic function of the high court: Settling disputes between states.