It was a historic day for more than one reason.
The Supreme Court held its first-ever arguments by phone. And a usually mum Justice Clarence Thomas interrogated lawyers appearing before the court — the third time he’s broken his silence on the bench in a decade.
The last time Thomas asked a question was more than a year ago, in a case about whether a white prosecutor in Mississippi violated the Constitution in his efforts to exclude black jurors from the six trials of Curtis Flowers, a black man convicted of murdering four people.
Before that, Thomas last asked a question in 2016, breaking a decadelong silence.
The Supreme Court justice did not clarify why he decided to ask a question in the current case about a trademark dispute, but each justice was individually called on by Chief Justice John Roberts to ask their questions. Roberts does not normally single out the justices at in-person arguments.
“Could Booking acquire a vanity number, 1-800-BOOKING, for example, that is similar to 1-800-PLUMBING, which is a registered mark?” Thomas asked Justice Department lawyer Erica Ross.
He also asked questions of Booking.com lawyer Lisa Blatt.
