Clarence Thomas comes out fast with questions in new Supreme Court in-person argument format | Fox News

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas came out fast to ask the first questions of the new Supreme Court term Monday, signaling that he will continue to actively participate in oral arguments even though the court is returning to in-person hearings. 

“Counsel, you seem to complain about Tennessee pumping water from Mississippi, but you admit that Tennessee does not enter across the border into Mississippi, isn’t that correct?” Thomas asked a lawyer from Mississippi after he finished his opening statement in a water dispute. 

The question and its timing were notable because the court is adopting a new hybrid argument format. Before the pandemic,  justices interrupted counsel with a barrage of rapid-fire questions in no particular order. Thomas made clear his distaste for that system and almost never spoke. 

But when the court was forced to work remotely last year it began asking questions in descending order of seniority, a system Thomas participated in the same as all his fellow justices. 

via www.foxnews.com