For the fifth straight year, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas carved out time from the closing days of the Supreme Courts’ session to meet with the Institute’s junior class.  This summer’s meeting was held in the Lawyer’s Lounge, where he met with the inaugural class in 2003.  As always, the Justice greeted each scholar warmly and told them about experiences in their home towns, visits to their campuses, or other things he had in common with them.  Once everyone was seated, he started the discussion by telling them what a wonderful opportunity they had been afforded by being selected for the Institute for Responsible Citizenship.  He reminded them that they had been selected because of their hard work, and that they would continue to have opportunities presented to them if they continue to work hard. 

Thomas spent a considerable time talking about his childhood in Georgia and the individuals who sacrificed for him to have opportunities to get a good education, his early desire to return one day and practice law in Georgia, and the twists and turns in his career that led him to Washington and ultimately to the Supreme Court.  He discussed his work on the Court and the judicial philosophy that guided his opinions on several high-profile cases that the scholars were interested in.  Always generous with his time, the Justice answered at least one question from all of the scholars.  He posed for pictures afterward and continued to chat individually with the young men for an extended period of time.