Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register (Reuters) – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will not teach at George Washington University Law School this fall after his concurrence in overturning the constitutional right to abortion sparked a public outcry. “Judge Thomas has informed GW Law that he is not available to co-teach a constitutional law seminar this fall,” a university spokesperson said in a statement. The university “has no additional information to share” about whether Thomas may teach at the law school in the future, the statement said. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register A spokesman for the Supreme Court did not respond to a request for comment. Thomas has co-taught a seminar at GW Law since 2011, according to the GW Hatchet, the student newspaper, which first reported that the justice would not be returning this fall. Gregory Maggs, a U.S. Court of Appeals judge who was scheduled to co-teach Thomas at the seminar, could not immediately be reached. Maggs will teach the course without Thomas this fall, according to the university’s announcement. Critics launched an online petition calling on the university to fire Thomas after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in June in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which left regulation of abortion access up to the states. The petition had more than 11,000 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon. University Provost Christopher Bracey and Law Dean Dayna Bowen Matthew said in a campus-wide email last month that Thomas would not be fired as a law school adjunct, although his views did not represent the university or its law school. “Like all faculty members at our university, Justice Thomas has academic freedom and freedom of expression and research,” the email said. Thomas reported $10,000 in income from teaching at the Washington, D.C. law school in his 2021 financial disclosures. Such disclosures are required annually for sitting Supreme Court justices. Read more: Law School Won’t Fire Clarence Thomas, Despite Pressure Over Abortion Ruling US Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade, Ends Constitutional Right to Abortion Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. David Thomas Thomson Reuters David Thomas reports on legal practice, including law firm strategy, recruitment, mergers and litigation. It is based out of Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @DaveThomas5150.
