Clarence Thomas Breaks Silence: Famously Quiet Justice Poses Questions During Court’s First Remote Hearing

The U.S. Supreme Court’s first remote oral arguments were a momentous occasion for an unexpected reason. During the virtual hearing Monday, notoriously quiet Justice Clarence Thomas posed questions for the first time in over a year.

The arguments heard by the Supreme Court pertained to the case of Booking.com, which had been denied trademark protection by the Patent and Trademark Office due to its simple and broad name. The office argued that protection of such a name would give the internet company something of a monopoly.

Chief Justice John Roberts called on his fellow Justices individually during the session, prompting them to ask any questions of Erica Ross, assistant for the Solicitor General, and Lisa Blatt, attorney for Booking.com.

“Ms. Ross, the couple of questions,” Justice Thomas said. “Could booking acquire an 800 number that's a vanity number? 1-800-booking, for example, that is similar to 1-800-plumbing, which is a registered mark.”

Justice Thomas last made an inquiry during a session in March 2019, when the Court heard arguments pertaining to a Mississippi prosecutor’s consistent elimination of black jurors from jury pools. Prior to that, he once went without asking questions for 10 years before finally speaking in 2016 during a hearing on a case of domestic assault charges and firearm ownership.

Monday marked the first time that the extremely tradition-oriented Supreme Court had held a session via conference call. It was also the first time that arguments were live-streamed to the public.

The high court is set to hear nine more arguments in May through virtual sessions. These include the high-profile case pertaining to Donald Trump’s financial records and whether or not the president has the authority to block their release to the public.