Virginia Thomas is not the first spouse of a Supreme Court justice to make headlines
The high court has a long history of partisan politics among family members
Read the full article in The Hill
The nation’s highest tribunal is normally wedded to precedent. For the sake of the law’s stability and to maintain its own legitimacy, the Supreme Court tries to avoid decisions that would muddy legal interpretations if they changed every few years. The current controversy over the partisan political activities of Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife, Virginia, raises an intriguing query about another kind of precedent: whether spouses of past justices have engaged in questionable personal or professional behavior.
The modern era of Supreme Court nomination fights began with President Woodrow Wilson’s appointment of the first Jewish justice, Louis Brandeis, in 1916. His progressive ideals, combined with his religious affiliation, made him an obvious target for conservatives and anti-Semites. Known as “the People’s Lawyer,” he shared his liberal ideology with Alice Goldmark Brandeis, his wife, and her sister, Josephine, an activist in the National Consumers League.
Mrs. Brandeis continued championing progressive causes even after her husband’s appointment to the court. At their Washington home, they frequently convened salons where fellow liberals discussed public policy. In the 1924 presidential race, Alice Brandeis supported the candidacy of Wisconsin Sen. Robert La Follette, who headed what was considered a radical Progressive Party ticket. La Follette offered Justice Brandeis the vice presidential nomination, but he declined.
