Justices Thomas and Sotomayor, who say they benefitted from affirmative action, divide on its future
The personal experiences of Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor will share the spotlight when the Supreme Court’s opinions on affirmative action are handed down The Supreme Court's most senior conservative, Justice Clarence Thomas, and its most senior liberal, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, both rose from humble beginnings to join the elite ranks of Yale Law School -- and both have publicly credited race-based affirmative action initiatives with helping them get there. But both justices have now staked out starkly opposite positions on whether the policy should be allowed to continue, facing off in a pair of blockbuster cases that will be decided this month and address the future of race in college admissions. "Even as these people have very similar experiences across the board, the way that they react to them is radically different," said Leah Wright Rigueur, an associate professor of History at Johns Hopkins University who specializes in race, Politics and civil rights. ...