By Gary Lawkowski '11
News Editor

On Tuesday, 50 members of the Law School’s chapter of the Federalist Society traveled to Washington to observe oral arguments before the Supreme Court of the United States and meet with Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. Justice Thomas spent more than an hour and a half with the students, delivering some brief remarks before proceeding to questions from students. Following a question-and-answer period, Justice Thomas stayed in the room to personally meet and shake hands with all of the students present. “I appreciated the Justice’s genuine interest in our group and that he took the time to talk to each of us individually,” said first-year Laura Jenkins. “Justice Thomas inspired me with his realistic yet positive view -- encouraging us to be honest and stick to our principles, avoid Washington’s cynicism, and work through the inevitable bumps in the road.”

The trip was more than a year in the making. “One of our board members, Megan Lacy, contacted Justice Thomas’ chambers and asked him if we could come visit. It took quite a bit of back-and-forth but we were able to nail down a date and then just went from there,” noted second-year chapter President Alexander Cox. According to Lacy, a third-year, “[Justice Thomas’] office, the Marshal’s office, and UVA alumni currently clerking for the Court were all very helpful in planning all the details,” particularly in accommodating the large number of students who expressed interest in the trip.

Prior to meeting with Justice Thomas, students observed one of two oral arguments before the Court. The first, Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, which concerned the legality of humanitarian organizations providing advice that furthers nonviolent activities of designated foreign terrorist organizations, and featured advocacy by Georgetown Law Professor David Cole and Solicitor General Elena Kagan. The second, United States v. O’Brien, addressed the question of whether certain sentencing-enhancement factors must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury or whether they may be found by a judge by a prepondance of the evidence.

Overall, Federalist Society organizers were pleased with the excursion. According to Lacy, “Justice Thomas was remarkably generous with his time, and we were grateful for the chance to hear his insights into his role as a Justice and our roles as law students and future advocates.” These sentiments were echoed by Cox, who stated, “Meeting Justice Thomas and hearing him speak was an amazing experience. He was funny, engaging, honest, and inspiring. I’m glad so many of our members were able to take part.”