Reply #41: Thomas did not "break custom". In fact, he followed it. [View All]

Before someone writes a piece about the Supreme Court it would help if they would familiarize themselves with SCOTUS practice. And that goes for the law professor who inaccurately described what happens when an application to a single justice is turned down and then resubmitted to another justice. As one of the leading scholars on Supreme Court practice has written with respect to the process whereby a request for a stay is submitted to single justice:

"If the assigned Justice denies an application, then the application can be re-submitted to any other Justice...under modern practice, renewed applications usually are submitted to the entire Court for resolution." http://www.appellate.net/docketreports/In_Chambers_Opinions_v2_scdr3_2004.pdf

To give the law professor in the story the benefit of the doubt, to the extent that his statement that a Justice receiving a re-submitted application typically "rejects" really meant that such re-submitted petitions are rarely granted, he is right. But Thomas (although he could have) didn't grant the petition. He didn't reject it either. He did what is commonly done -- he submitted to the entire court for resolution.

Sorry, but Thomas can't be faulted on this one at all.