Overview

• Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and other compensation for himself, his wife, and his extended family without disclosing them to the public.
• Northwestern law professor Steven Calabresi has defended Thomas, arguing that the Justice's clear body of rules and consistent rulings over 32 years on the bench demonstrate his incorruptibility.
• Calabresi suggests that Thomas's acceptance of gifts is justified due to his upbringing in poverty and his service in government jobs where he was 'grossly underpaid'.
• Calabresi's defense of Thomas has been met with skepticism, with critics suggesting that his arguments are satirical or that he has 'taken leave of his senses'.
• Despite the controversy, Calabresi maintains that Thomas is 'the best of the 116 justices to have served on the Supreme Court'.