<p>The US Supreme Court on Thursday, in a monumental decision, struck down affirmative action that took race/ethnicity into consideration before granting students admission to premier educational institutions. The decision left the bench divided with&nbsp;two ideologically opposed Black justices taking swipe at each other,&nbsp;in unusually sharp language.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Justice Clarence Thomas tore into the arguments posited by liberal&nbsp;Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to join the court, who penned her own fiery dissent in the case.&nbsp;</p>

<p data-analytics-observe="off" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_D39C54D4-EAC6-6038-2195-081245BAFFE5@published">“As she sees things, we are all inexorably trapped in a fundamentally racist society, with the original sin of slavery and the historical subjugation of Black Americans still determining our lives today,” wrote Thomas.&nbsp;</p>

<p data-analytics-observe="off" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_D39C54D4-EAC6-6038-2195-081245BAFFE5@published">“Worse still, Justice Jackson uses her broad observations about statistical relationships between race and select measures of health, wealth, and well-being to label all blacks as victims,” he wrote, before adding, “Her desire to do so is unfathomable to me.”</p>

<p data-analytics-observe="off" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_D39C54D4-EAC6-6038-2195-081245BAFFE5@published">Justice Thomas did not appreciate Justice Jackson's continued assessment that Black people were the victims.&nbsp;Justice Jackson’s viewpoint, he said, would keep Black people locked into “a seemingly perpetual inferior caste.”&nbsp;</p>

<p data-analytics-observe="off" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_D39C54D4-EAC6-6038-2195-081245BAFFE5@published">“Even in the segregated South where I grew up, individuals were not the sum of their skin color," he added.&nbsp;</p>

<p data-analytics-observe="off" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_D39C54D4-EAC6-6038-2195-081245BAFFE5@published"><a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/new-era-in-the-us-education-system-top-court-bans-affirmative-action-610263"><strong>WATCH |&nbsp;New era in the US education system: Top court bans affirmative action</strong></a></p>

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<p>In response, Justice Jackson denounced the remarks of her colleague as a “prolonged attack”, full of strawmen.&nbsp;</p>

<p data-analytics-observe="off" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_D39C54D4-EAC6-6038-2195-081245BAFFE5@published">“Justice Thomas ignites too many more straw men to list, or fully extinguish, here. The takeaway is that those who demand that no one think about race (a classic pink-elephant paradox) refuse to see, much less solve for, the elephant in the room – the race-linked disparities that continue to impede achievement of our great Nation’s full potential," she wrote.&nbsp;</p>

<p data-analytics-observe="off" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_D39C54D4-EAC6-6038-2195-081245BAFFE5@published">"Justice Thomas is somehow persuaded that these realities have no bearing on a fair assessment of ‘individual achievement'," she continued the criticism,</p>

<p data-analytics-observe="off" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_D39C54D4-EAC6-6038-2195-081245BAFFE5@published"><a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/us-verdict-on-race-quotas-in-education-raises-serious-questions-on-affirmative-action-610444"><strong>Also read |&nbsp;US verdict on race quotas in education raises serious questions on affirmative action</strong></a></p>

<h2 data-analytics-observe="off" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_D39C54D4-EAC6-6038-2195-081245BAFFE5@published">What happens after the ruling?</h2>

<p data-analytics-observe="off" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_8A95DABA-4B34-1123-79E8-07C0698906A6@published">After the court ruling, colleges and universities across the US may have to alter their admission process. Apart from making the uptake process 'merit-based', the institutions will have to find new ways to ensure diversity on the campus.&nbsp;</p>

<p>US President has expressed his displeasure at the decision to end affirmative action. &nbsp;He said USA's powerful top court was no longer in step with American norms.</p>

<p>"The court has effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions and I strongly, strongly disagree with the court's decision," he said in remarks broadcast live.</p>

<p data-analytics-observe="off" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_D39C54D4-EAC6-6038-2195-081245BAFFE5@published"><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>

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The US Supreme Court on Thursday, in a monumental decision, struck down affirmative action that took race/ethnicity into consideration before granting students admission to premier educational institutions.

The US Supreme Court on Thursday, in a monumental decision, struck down affirmative action that took race/ethnicity into consideration before granting students admission to premier educational institutions. The decision left the bench divided with two ideologically opposed Black justices taking swipe at each other, in unusually sharp language. Justice Clarence Thomas tore into the arguments posited by liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to join the court, who penned her own fiery dissent in the case. “As she sees things, we are all inexorably trapped in a fundamentally racist society, with the original sin of slavery and the historical subjugation of Black Americans still determining our lives today,” wrote Thomas. “Worse still, Justice Jackson uses her broad observations about statistical relationships between race and select measures of health, wealth, and well-being to label all blacks as victims,” he wrote, before adding, “Her desire to do so is unfathomable to me.” Justice Thomas did not appreciate Justice Jackson's continued assessment that Black people were the victims. Justice Jackson’s viewpoint, he said, would keep Black people locked into “a seemingly perpetual inferior caste.” “Even in the segregated South where I grew up, individuals were not the sum of their skin color," he added. WATCH | New era in the US education system: Top court bans affirmative action × In response, Justice Jackson denounced the remarks of her colleague as a “prolonged attack”, full of strawmen. “Justice Thomas ignites too many more straw men to list, or fully extinguish, here. The takeaway is that those who demand that no one think about race (a classic pink-elephant paradox) refuse to see, much less solve for, the elephant in the room – the race-linked disparities that continue to impede achievement of our great Nation’s full potential," she wrote. "Justice Thomas is somehow persuaded that these realities have no bearing on a fair assessment of ‘individual achievement'," she continued the criticism, Also read | US verdict on race quotas in education raises serious questions on affirmative action What happens after the ruling? After the court ruling, colleges and universities across the US may have to alter their admission process. Apart from making the uptake process 'merit-based', the institutions will have to find new ways to ensure diversity on the campus. US President has expressed his displeasure at the decision to end affirmative action. He said USA's powerful top court was no longer in step with American norms. "The court has effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions and I strongly, strongly disagree with the court's decision," he said in remarks broadcast live. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

US: Black justices take swipe at each other in affirmative action case

<p>An activist with interests in the court judgements to be delivered by US Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, funneled tens of thousands of dollars to Thomas's wife, Washington Post reported. Thomas is now under renewed scrutiny for the alleged instructions dispelled to ensure his wife was not named.</p>

<p>The report published on Thursday outlines instances in which activist Leonard Leo paid Clarence Thomas’s wife, Ginni Thomas, via the GOP pollster Kellyanne Conway.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-judge-clarence-thomas-accepted-luxury-travel-trips-from-billionaire-republican-report-579998">US judge Clarence Thomas accepted luxury travel trips from billionaire Republican: Report</a></strong></p>

<p>Citing documents it had obtained, the Washington Post reported that Leo told Conway to bill one of his non-profits and send the funds to Thomas. At one point, the paperwork associated with the transaction stated "no mention of Ginni, of course."</p>

<p><strong>ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;US democrats preparing bill to limit SC judges' term</strong></p>

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<p>The report is the latest in a stream of similar stories that have scrutinised the ethics of US Supreme Court justices.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Last month, ProPublica revealed entanglements between Clarence Thomas and the Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow. Thomas has for years accepted luxury travel from Crow and at one point participated in a real estate deal with the billionaire, without fully disclosing these associations, ProPublica reported.</p>

<p>Prior to that, Politico reported that Neil Gorsuch, a conservative appointed to the Supreme Court by former US President Donald Trump, profited from the sale of a home to the executive of a law firm involved in cases the panel was considering.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Reports in the US media have claimed that the Supreme Court swung firmly to the right after Trump elevated Gorsuch and two other judges widely perceived to be conservatives to the Supreme Court.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Last year, that group together with Thomas and fellow conservative justice Samuel Alito voted to overturn Roe vs Wade and allow states to ban abortion entirely.</p>

<p>Democrats have cried foul over the recent reports about justice’s ethics. The senate judiciary committee this week held a hearing to examine whether Congress should impose a code of conduct on the nation’s highest court. The committee’s chair, Dick Durbin, invited Chief Justice John Roberts to testify, but he declined. Roberts instead sent along a statement signed by all nine justices to "reaffirm and restate foundational ethics principles and practices to which they subscribe."</p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE</strong></p>

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An activist with interests in the court judgements to be delivered by US Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, funneled tens of thousands of dollars to Thomas's wife, Washington Post reported.

An activist with interests in the court judgements to be delivered by US Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, funneled tens of thousands of dollars to Thomas's wife, Washington Post reported. Thomas is now under renewed scrutiny for the alleged instructions dispelled to ensure his wife was not named. The report published on Thursday outlines instances in which activist Leonard Leo paid Clarence Thomas’s wife, Ginni Thomas, via the GOP pollster Kellyanne Conway. ALSO READ | US judge Clarence Thomas accepted luxury travel trips from billionaire Republican: Report Citing documents it had obtained, the Washington Post reported that Leo told Conway to bill one of his non-profits and send the funds to Thomas. At one point, the paperwork associated with the transaction stated "no mention of Ginni, of course." ALSO WATCH | US democrats preparing bill to limit SC judges' term × The report is the latest in a stream of similar stories that have scrutinised the ethics of US Supreme Court justices. Last month, ProPublica revealed entanglements between Clarence Thomas and the Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow. Thomas has for years accepted luxury travel from Crow and at one point participated in a real estate deal with the billionaire, without fully disclosing these associations, ProPublica reported. Prior to that, Politico reported that Neil Gorsuch, a conservative appointed to the Supreme Court by former US President Donald Trump, profited from the sale of a home to the executive of a law firm involved in cases the panel was considering. Reports in the US media have claimed that the Supreme Court swung firmly to the right after Trump elevated Gorsuch and two other judges widely perceived to be conservatives to the Supreme Court. Last year, that group together with Thomas and fellow conservative justice Samuel Alito voted to overturn Roe vs Wade and allow states to ban abortion entirely. Democrats have cried foul over the recent reports about justice’s ethics. The senate judiciary committee this week held a hearing to examine whether Congress should impose a code of conduct on the nation’s highest court. The committee’s chair, Dick Durbin, invited Chief Justice John Roberts to testify, but he declined. Roberts instead sent along a statement signed by all nine justices to "reaffirm and restate foundational ethics principles and practices to which they subscribe." WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

'No mention of Ginny': US Supreme Court judge accused of corruption

<p>Justice Clarence Thomas, the longest-serving member of the U.S. Supreme Court, was hospitalized with an infection Friday after experiencing flulike symptoms, the court said in a statement Sunday.</p>

<p>Thomas was being treated with intravenous antibiotics at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, the statement said.</p>

<p>“His symptoms are abating, he is resting comfortably, and he expects to be released from the hospital in a day or two,” it said.</p>

<p>Patricia McCabe, a spokesperson for the Supreme Court, said that Thomas’ illness was not COVID-19 or related to the coronavirus.</p>

<p>The statement said that Thomas would “participate in the consideration and discussion of any cases for which he is not present on the basis of the briefs, transcripts and audio of the oral arguments.”</p>

<p>All of the nine Supreme Court justices have been vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. At least two justices, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh, have previously contracted the virus. Justices are regularly tested for the virus, in accordance with court protocol.</p>

<p>Thomas, 73, was nominated by President George H.W. Bush and was seated Oct. 23, 1991, making him the court’s most senior conservative member. He is its second-oldest member, after Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, who in January announced his retirement.</p>

<p>In his resignation letter, Breyer said he intended to retire after the court completed its current term this summer, generally in late June or early July, “assuming that by then my successor has been nominated and confirmed.”</p>

<p>Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, President Joe Biden’s nominee to replace Breyer, serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was nominated to that position last year by Biden.</p>

<p>On Monday, the same day that the Supreme Court reconvenes, the Senate Judiciary Committee will open its hearings on her nomination.</p>

<p>Few Republicans are expected to support Jackson, echoing her federal appeals court nomination, in which only three Republicans voted for her confirmation.</p>

<p>In the days leading up to the start of the committee hearings for her Supreme Court bid, conservative lawmakers — including the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell; and Sen. Josh Hawley of Arizona — have escalated criticism about Jackson’s record as a public defender.</p>

<p>If confirmed, she would be the first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice.</p>


Justice Clarence Thomas, the longest-serving member of the U.S. Supreme Court, was hospitalized with an infection Friday after experiencing flulike symptoms, the court said in a statement Sunday.

Justice Clarence Thomas, the longest-serving member of the U.S. Supreme Court, was hospitalized with an infection Friday after experiencing flulike symptoms, the court said in a statement Sunday. Thomas was being treated with intravenous antibiotics at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, the statement said. “His symptoms are abating, he is resting comfortably, and he expects to be released from the hospital in a day or two,” it said. Patricia McCabe, a spokesperson for the Supreme Court, said that Thomas’ illness was not COVID-19 or related to the coronavirus. The statement said that Thomas would “participate in the consideration and discussion of any cases for which he is not present on the basis of the briefs, transcripts and audio of the oral arguments.” All of the nine Supreme Court justices have been vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. At least two justices, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh, have previously contracted the virus. Justices are regularly tested for the virus, in accordance with court protocol. Thomas, 73, was nominated by President George H.W. Bush and was seated Oct. 23, 1991, making him the court’s most senior conservative member. He is its second-oldest member, after Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, who in January announced his retirement. In his resignation letter, Breyer said he intended to retire after the court completed its current term this summer, generally in late June or early July, “assuming that by then my successor has been nominated and confirmed.” Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, President Joe Biden’s nominee to replace Breyer, serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was nominated to that position last year by Biden. On Monday, the same day that the Supreme Court reconvenes, the Senate Judiciary Committee will open its hearings on her nomination. Few Republicans are expected to support Jackson, echoing her federal appeals court nomination, in which only three Republicans voted for her confirmation. In the days leading up to the start of the committee hearings for her Supreme Court bid, conservative lawmakers — including the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell; and Sen. Josh Hawley of Arizona — have escalated criticism about Jackson’s record as a public defender. If confirmed, she would be the first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice.

US SC judge Justice Clarence Thomas hospitalised with flu-like symptoms, court says