U.S. Supreme Court / Appointed 1991 / Active
Clarence Thomas
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 and confirmed by the Senate 52–48, Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He earned a law degree from Yale Law School in 1974. He previously served on the District of Columbia Circuit.Sources — FJC Biographical Directory · Senate confirmation, October 15, 1991
- Appointed by
- George H.W. Bush, 1991
- Confirmed
- 52–48
- Education
- College of the Holy Cross 1971 · Yale Law School 1974
- Succeeded
- Thurgood Marshall
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | District of Columbia Circuit | Bush (R) | voice |
| 1991 | Supreme Court · succeeded Thurgood Marshall | Bush (R) | 52–48 |
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 52–48 on October 15, 1991 · 102nd Congress, Roll Call 220. Senators link to their PolitiFinder profiles where identified.
Voted to confirm · 52
- Christopher Bond(R-MO)
- David Boren(D-OK)
- John Breaux(D-LA)
- Hank Brown(R-CO)
- Conrad Burns(R-MT)
- John Chafee(R-RI)
- Dan Coats(R-IN)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- William Cohen(R-ME)
- Larry Craig(R-ID)
- Alfonse D'Amato(R-NY)
- John Danforth(R-MO)
- Dennis DeConcini(D-AZ)
- Alan Dixon(D-IL)
- Bob Dole(R-KS)
- Pete Domenici(R-NM)
- Dave Durenberger(R-MN)
- J. Exon(D-NE)
- Wyche Fowler(D-GA)
- Jake Garn(R-UT)
- Slade Gorton(R-WA)
- Phil Gramm(R-TX)
- Chuck Grassley(R-IA)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Mark Hatfield(R-OR)
- Jesse Helms(R-NC)
- Ernest Hollings(D-SC)
- J. Johnston(D-LA)
- Nancy Kassebaum(R-KS)
- Robert Kasten(R-WI)
- Trent Lott(R-MS)
- Richard Lugar(R-IN)
- Connie Mack(R-FL)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Frank Murkowski(R-AK)
- Don Nickles(R-OK)
- Sam Nunn(D-GA)
- Larry Pressler(R-SD)
- Charles Robb(D-VA)
- William Roth(R-DE)
- Warren Rudman(R-NH)
- John Seymour(R-CA)
- Richard Shelby(D-AL)
- Alan Simpson(R-WY)
- Bob Smith(R-NH)
- Arlen Specter(R-PA)
- Ted Stevens(R-AK)
- Steve Symms(R-ID)
- Strom Thurmond(R-SC)
- Malcolm Wallop(R-WY)
- John Warner(R-VA)
Voted against · 48
- Brock Adams(D-WA)
- Daniel Akaka(D-HI)
- Max Baucus(D-MT)
- Lloyd Bentsen(D-TX)
- Joseph Biden(D-DE)
- Jeff Bingaman(D-NM)
- Bill Bradley(D-NJ)
- Richard Bryan(D-NV)
- Dale Bumpers(D-AR)
- Quentin Burdick(D-ND)
- Robert Byrd(D-WV)
- Kent Conrad(D-ND)
- Alan Cranston(D-CA)
- Thomas Daschle(D-SD)
- Christopher Dodd(D-CT)
- Wendell Ford(D-KY)
- John Glenn(D-OH)
- Albert Gore(D-TN)
- Bob Graham(D-FL)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- Howell Heflin(D-AL)
- Daniel Inouye(D-HI)
- James Jeffords(R-VT)
- Edward Kennedy(D-MA)
- J. Kerrey(D-NE)
- John Kerry(D-MA)
- Herb Kohl(D-WI)
- Frank Lautenberg(D-NJ)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Joseph Lieberman(D-CT)
- Howard Metzenbaum(D-OH)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
- George Mitchell(D-ME)
- Daniel Moynihan(D-NY)
- Bob Packwood(R-OR)
- Claiborne Pell(D-RI)
- David Pryor(D-AR)
- Harry Reid(D-NV)
- Donald Riegle(D-MI)
- John Rockefeller(D-WV)
- Terry Sanford(D-NC)
- Paul Sarbanes(D-MD)
- Jim Sasser(D-TN)
- Paul Simon(D-IL)
- Paul Wellstone(D-MN)
- Timothy Wirth(D-CO)
- Harris Wofford(D-PA)
Education
| College of the Holy Cross | B.A. | 1971 |
| Yale Law School | J.D. | 1974 |
Sources
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Steve Petteway, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 1991)
34 years on the Court. Data last verified 2026-06-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).