I'm Elizabeth Lattery and welcome to SCOTUS 101, where we break down what's happening at the Supreme Court, what the justices are up to, and other things related to our favorite branch of government.

This week, I'm joined by Ken Klukeowski from the First Liberty Institute.

Ken, thanks for joining me.

Thanks for having me, Elizabeth.

So let's hit some of the SCOTUS headlines.

Is Justice Clarence Thomas here to stay, or is he thinking about taking a permanent road trip across America?

Ariane DeVogue of CNN wrote an article asking whether the justice is considering retirement in light of what she calls his jaw-dropping opinion last week,

suggesting that the court revisit its First Amendment jurisprudence related to defamation.

She asks, was this a last salvo, or is the justice laying down a marker for an area he hopes

the justices will reconsider while he's still on the court?

So a couple of thoughts on this.

First, he's only 70 years old, which by Supreme Court

standards makes him a spring chicken. He and Neil Gorsuch have become fast friends since the younger

justice joined the court. In the past, Thomas often would write a concurrence or a dissent

staking out a pretty bold, originalist position on an issue. And Gorsuch has been joining a lot of

these. Even when they disagree, it seems like they're having fun doing so, such as their dueling

opinions in Sessions versus DeMaio last term on the merits of the vagueness doctrine. And finally,

DeVogue points out in her article that the general consensus among those closest to the justice, including

what she calls his army of former clerks, don't see him retiring anytime soon. Ken, what do you

think? Well, I think for starters, this is just the latest confirmation that no right-thinking

American should ever take Supreme Court or constitutional advice from CNN.

I mean, New York Times versus Sullivan, which is what Justice Thomas was speaking about, was wrong the day it was decided in 1964.

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