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The People's Justice: Clarence Thomas and the Constitutional Stories that Define Him
"Amul Thapar sets the record straight with this can't-put-down series of stories that reveal the courage, decency, and humanity of the man behind what many are calling the Thomas Court."
—Megyn Kelly, journalist
"Amul Thapar has done what even gifted law professors and professional 'Court watchers' often fail to Thapar has focused on the men and women whose lives are before the nine and on how one justice, Clarence Thomas, has carefully, consistently, and compassionately applied his understanding of the Constitution to those lives."
— Hugh Hewitt, host of The Hugh Hewitt Show and professor of law
For thirty years, Clarence Thomas has been denounced as the “cruelest justice,” a betrayer of his race, an ideologue, and the enemy of the little guy. In this compelling study of the man and the jurist, Amul Thapar demolishes that caricature.
Every day, Americans go to court. Invoking the Constitution, they fight for their homes, for a better education for their children, and to save their cities from violence. Recounting the stories of a handful of these ordinary Americans whose struggles for justice reached the Supreme Court, Thapar shines new light on the heart and mind of Clarence Thomas.
A woman in debilitating pain whose only effective medication has been taken away by the government, the motherless children of a slain police officer, victims of sexual assault— read their eye-opening stories, stripped of legalese, and decide for yourself whether Thomas’s originalist jurisprudence delivers equal justice under law.
“Finding the right answer,” Justice Thomas has observed, “is often the least difficult problem.” What is needed is “the courage to assert that answer and stand firm in the face of the constant winds of protest and criticism.”
That courage—along with wisdom and compassion—shines out from every page of The People’s Justice. At the heart of this book is the Would you want to live in Justice Thomas’s America? After reading these stories, even his critics might be surprised by their answer.
—Megyn Kelly, journalist
"Amul Thapar has done what even gifted law professors and professional 'Court watchers' often fail to Thapar has focused on the men and women whose lives are before the nine and on how one justice, Clarence Thomas, has carefully, consistently, and compassionately applied his understanding of the Constitution to those lives."
— Hugh Hewitt, host of The Hugh Hewitt Show and professor of law
For thirty years, Clarence Thomas has been denounced as the “cruelest justice,” a betrayer of his race, an ideologue, and the enemy of the little guy. In this compelling study of the man and the jurist, Amul Thapar demolishes that caricature.
Every day, Americans go to court. Invoking the Constitution, they fight for their homes, for a better education for their children, and to save their cities from violence. Recounting the stories of a handful of these ordinary Americans whose struggles for justice reached the Supreme Court, Thapar shines new light on the heart and mind of Clarence Thomas.
A woman in debilitating pain whose only effective medication has been taken away by the government, the motherless children of a slain police officer, victims of sexual assault— read their eye-opening stories, stripped of legalese, and decide for yourself whether Thomas’s originalist jurisprudence delivers equal justice under law.
“Finding the right answer,” Justice Thomas has observed, “is often the least difficult problem.” What is needed is “the courage to assert that answer and stand firm in the face of the constant winds of protest and criticism.”
That courage—along with wisdom and compassion—shines out from every page of The People’s Justice. At the heart of this book is the Would you want to live in Justice Thomas’s America? After reading these stories, even his critics might be surprised by their answer.
285 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 20, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
August 6, 2023
As someone who admires and appreciates Justice Thomas' work on the Court, this book was a MASSIVE disappointment.
In the book, Judge Thapar details the facts and legal journey of several Supreme Court cases:
Kelo (eminent domain)
Zelman (school choice)
Grutter (affirmative action)
Raich (marijuana regulation)
Doe v. US (government liability)
McKee (defamation)
Brumfield (death penalty)
Chicago v. Morales (loitering ordinances)
McDonald (2nd Amendment)
Brown v. EMA (violent video games)
Campbell (bad-faith insurance damages)
Virginia v. Black (cross burning)
In each chapter, Thapar does well on describing the human side of each case. Using extensive research and personal interviews, the reader will gain a lucid understanding of the parties involved and how the case ended up at SCOTUS.
I have several critiques of the book, but I will only detail the fatal flaw that justifies knocking off three stars.
This book has almost nothing to do with Justice Clarence Thomas. The cover bears Thomas' face. The subtitle is "Clarence Thomas and the Constitutional Stories That Define Him." But this book hardly lives up to its stated purpose.
At the end of each chapter, Thapar describes how the Supreme Court ruled and reviews each Justice's opinion or dissent. In most chapters, Justice Thomas is barely given a few paragraphs. Thapar merely summarizes Thomas' opinions and never analyzes them. How does this case define Thomas? Why is this opinion so significant in telling us how Thomas thinks?
The reader would do better to read the Wikipedia page of each case, or better yet, read Thomas' opinions themselves - in full.
My conclusion is that the use of Justice Thomas' name and image is a ruse - a marketing ploy.
The book reveals nothing interesting about Thomas' views, legal approach, or importance on the Court. Again, Wikipedia or the opinion itself would be more illuminating.
This book would perhaps be good for someone interested in learning the facts of these cases and gaining a general understanding of what the conservative view of them is. In fact, this book could easily be four stars if Thapar had simply decided to frame the book as a conservative/originalist view of the selected Supreme Court cases.
Instead, Thapar (or the publisher) decided to market this book as mainly relating to "the Constitutional Stories That Define" Clarence Thomas while only relegating a few terse paragraphs at the end of each chapter summarzing the Thomas opinion/dissent.
If you want to learn more about these cases, read the Wikipedia. If you want to learn more about Thomas' view in the cases, read his actual opinions or dissents.
This book isn't what it claims to be and isn't worth your time or money.
In the book, Judge Thapar details the facts and legal journey of several Supreme Court cases:
Kelo (eminent domain)
Zelman (school choice)
Grutter (affirmative action)
Raich (marijuana regulation)
Doe v. US (government liability)
McKee (defamation)
Brumfield (death penalty)
Chicago v. Morales (loitering ordinances)
McDonald (2nd Amendment)
Brown v. EMA (violent video games)
Campbell (bad-faith insurance damages)
Virginia v. Black (cross burning)
In each chapter, Thapar does well on describing the human side of each case. Using extensive research and personal interviews, the reader will gain a lucid understanding of the parties involved and how the case ended up at SCOTUS.
I have several critiques of the book, but I will only detail the fatal flaw that justifies knocking off three stars.
This book has almost nothing to do with Justice Clarence Thomas. The cover bears Thomas' face. The subtitle is "Clarence Thomas and the Constitutional Stories That Define Him." But this book hardly lives up to its stated purpose.
At the end of each chapter, Thapar describes how the Supreme Court ruled and reviews each Justice's opinion or dissent. In most chapters, Justice Thomas is barely given a few paragraphs. Thapar merely summarizes Thomas' opinions and never analyzes them. How does this case define Thomas? Why is this opinion so significant in telling us how Thomas thinks?
The reader would do better to read the Wikipedia page of each case, or better yet, read Thomas' opinions themselves - in full.
My conclusion is that the use of Justice Thomas' name and image is a ruse - a marketing ploy.
The book reveals nothing interesting about Thomas' views, legal approach, or importance on the Court. Again, Wikipedia or the opinion itself would be more illuminating.
This book would perhaps be good for someone interested in learning the facts of these cases and gaining a general understanding of what the conservative view of them is. In fact, this book could easily be four stars if Thapar had simply decided to frame the book as a conservative/originalist view of the selected Supreme Court cases.
Instead, Thapar (or the publisher) decided to market this book as mainly relating to "the Constitutional Stories That Define" Clarence Thomas while only relegating a few terse paragraphs at the end of each chapter summarzing the Thomas opinion/dissent.
If you want to learn more about these cases, read the Wikipedia. If you want to learn more about Thomas' view in the cases, read his actual opinions or dissents.
This book isn't what it claims to be and isn't worth your time or money.
May 16, 2023
Clarence Thomas is a POS who is bought and paid for by Harlan Crow. He is helping destroy American democracy and institute fascism throughout the country. He and his wife have received millions in bribes
January 17, 2024
When I started reading this book, I was going to do my review broken down by the twelve Supreme Court cases and Clarence Thomas's vote and view on them. Most are very interesting cases which basically ends with court decisions and then which way Justice Thomas voted and why he voted for it or against it. Based on the information regarding his discussions and dissents he is barely in the book at all. I honestly do not see at all how this is a book about Justice Thomas. It's pretty much a waste. Thanks to Goodreads for the copy to read and review.
July 19, 2023
The People's Justice by Amul Thapar was a well written and researched summary of some of the important cases that Justice Clarence Thomas has ruled on in a way that shows how his originalism is based in respect for the constitution as written and based on understanding exactly what it meant when it was written.
I'm a big fan of Justice Thomas and I lerned a number of things from this book, making it a stisfying read. Thomas' focus on originalism often works to the favor of the ordinary person, since the constitution was writen to protect ctizens from their government, something the court has gotten away from in a big way.
The cases are explained in non-legalese and the issues are laid out clearly and succinctly.
I'm a big fan of Justice Thomas and I lerned a number of things from this book, making it a stisfying read. Thomas' focus on originalism often works to the favor of the ordinary person, since the constitution was writen to protect ctizens from their government, something the court has gotten away from in a big way.
The cases are explained in non-legalese and the issues are laid out clearly and succinctly.
September 17, 2023
The book isn’t what I was expecting/hoping for. I was looking forward to a winsome description of Justice Thomas through the lens of various court cases. This book is about 10% about Justice Thomas and 90% a description of the various court cases, beginning with the inciting incident and then tracking them through the various levels of courts. Each chapter/case then finishes with a page or two describing Thomas’ analysis. I know I am rating the book low because of my expectations but it is what it is
December 29, 2024
I found this book easy to read and interesting. It was difficult in some ways because I don't agree with Justice Thomas politically nor do I agree with "originalism" as a basis for interpreting the Constitution. I was interested to see that the author is a judge who identifies himself as an originalist. The book consists of 12 cases heard by the Supreme Court during Justice Thomas's tenure. Each case is a heart-rending story and the author portrays Thomas and his originalist view as the "hero".
To check to see if Judge Thapar might be writing an apologia rather than a serious analysis, I plan to read "The Enigma of Clarence Thomas" as my next book.
To check to see if Judge Thapar might be writing an apologia rather than a serious analysis, I plan to read "The Enigma of Clarence Thomas" as my next book.
December 29, 2023
TLDR: a fascinating book, but not really about Thomas.
I have conflicting feelings about this book. Its stated purpose is to show what a good guy Justice Thomas is and to make people like him more. Well, in this regard it definitely failed for me. Each case study in this book introduces its own set of heroes who fought the cases for years. At most, Thomas stepped in at the end and spent probably a few hours over the course of about 6 months reaching a decision about it.
However, I found the cases themselves to be fascinating. They are written in a very accessible way so that even us non-lawyers can easily understand them, with a strong focus on the human aspect and the people behind the cases. If anything, the narratives felt a bit too dumbed down at times. So overall, I enjoyed this book, but you have to go into it looking at it as more of a study of selected Supreme Court cases than as anything about Clarence Thomas. Some of these cases will make you downright angry and have you questioning our entire legal system...all the way to the Supreme Court.
The timing of the book was also (un)fortunate for the author, depending on how you look at it. Though the publication date is after all of Thomas' corruption came to light, the book was certainly written, and most likely printed, before it. I would be interested to see how this changed the author's views on Thomas. Does he regret this book now?
I have conflicting feelings about this book. Its stated purpose is to show what a good guy Justice Thomas is and to make people like him more. Well, in this regard it definitely failed for me. Each case study in this book introduces its own set of heroes who fought the cases for years. At most, Thomas stepped in at the end and spent probably a few hours over the course of about 6 months reaching a decision about it.
However, I found the cases themselves to be fascinating. They are written in a very accessible way so that even us non-lawyers can easily understand them, with a strong focus on the human aspect and the people behind the cases. If anything, the narratives felt a bit too dumbed down at times. So overall, I enjoyed this book, but you have to go into it looking at it as more of a study of selected Supreme Court cases than as anything about Clarence Thomas. Some of these cases will make you downright angry and have you questioning our entire legal system...all the way to the Supreme Court.
The timing of the book was also (un)fortunate for the author, depending on how you look at it. Though the publication date is after all of Thomas' corruption came to light, the book was certainly written, and most likely printed, before it. I would be interested to see how this changed the author's views on Thomas. Does he regret this book now?
June 30, 2023
Seriously, what is this nonsense? TL;DR
December 15, 2023
This book is only tangentially related to Justice Thomas. It is the story of many different cases with just a couple of pages at the end of each chapter describing Justice Thomas's decision or dissent and a brief conclusion tying everything together. Disappointing.
January 31, 2025
The main criticism of this book seems to be that it is not about Clarence Thomas. The inside flap says, "For thirty years, Clarence Thomas has been denounced as the 'cruelest justice,' a betrayer of his race, and ideologue, and the enemy of the little guy. In this compelling study of the man and the jurist, Amul Thapar demolishes that caricature." Though the book does gives a couple of poignant glimpses into the man, it really is not an examination of Thomas as a man or even as a jurist (in the sense of looking at anything he may have written about his views on jurisprudence). Rather, the book simply looks at several court cases and the position Thomas took. These do indeed serve to demolish the caricature of the last thirty years and portray him as "The People's Justice". I found it an easy and enjoyable read. In several cases, it was very interesting to note how the liberal justices did not come down on the side of "the people", as one might have expected. This book would likely challenge many people's opinions of the conservative vs. liberal justices of the Supreme Court.
July 25, 2025
When you put Justice Thomas on the front of your book and title it, “The People’s Justice, Clarence, Thomas and the Constitutional Stories that Define Him”, a reader expects a book’s focus to be on Justice Thomas and his constitutional philosophy. That’s not what we have. It was a good idea, but that was very poorly executed. I like the idea of choosing cases that were argued in front of him in an effort to show his jurisprudence, but the book fails at that. As a result, the book has very little to do with Justice Thomas. I’ve never read Clarence Thomas’ “My Grandfather’s Son” but I’m going to do so now.
September 18, 2023
It’s really just excerpts from decisions where Justice Thomas participated. I would like to have read more in-depth analysis.
May 31, 2024
An engaging and digestible introduction to the person of Justice Thomas.
I watched Judge Thapar's interview with Albert Mohler and knew I had to start reading this work as soon as possible.
The media has relentlessly slandered Justice Thomas since his nomination to the Supreme Court, and Judge Thapar carefully dispels the unfortunate narrative that has been painted. My only criticism, in fact the reason this is only a four star rating, is I felt that some of the background facts given in the explanation of cases were superfluous.
I have always favoured originalism and have read books on the subject. However, in my head I thought of this philosophy as generally producing negative results. Garbage in, garbage out. I was pleasantly surprised to see the author demonstrate that it is in fact originalism, a true faithfulness to the US Constitution, that has advanced the rights of the lowly and downtrodden, while more liberal (purpose-based) readings of the text have resulted in the protection of large corporations, or otherwise harmful effects.
I suggest you pick this book up. Whether you love or hate the Justice, this is a must-read. Beyond enlightening you on Justice Thomas' philosophy, this book may inspire you, as it inspired me, to be a better human being.
The preceding paragraph would have been a fitting end to this review, but I fear it may be unintentionally misleading. I do not mean to give the impression that this book is about Justice Thomas the human being. However, I think the reader will find that his humanity shines through. To understand what I mean, read the introduction and a few chapters. A truly stirring read.
I watched Judge Thapar's interview with Albert Mohler and knew I had to start reading this work as soon as possible.
The media has relentlessly slandered Justice Thomas since his nomination to the Supreme Court, and Judge Thapar carefully dispels the unfortunate narrative that has been painted. My only criticism, in fact the reason this is only a four star rating, is I felt that some of the background facts given in the explanation of cases were superfluous.
I have always favoured originalism and have read books on the subject. However, in my head I thought of this philosophy as generally producing negative results. Garbage in, garbage out. I was pleasantly surprised to see the author demonstrate that it is in fact originalism, a true faithfulness to the US Constitution, that has advanced the rights of the lowly and downtrodden, while more liberal (purpose-based) readings of the text have resulted in the protection of large corporations, or otherwise harmful effects.
I suggest you pick this book up. Whether you love or hate the Justice, this is a must-read. Beyond enlightening you on Justice Thomas' philosophy, this book may inspire you, as it inspired me, to be a better human being.
The preceding paragraph would have been a fitting end to this review, but I fear it may be unintentionally misleading. I do not mean to give the impression that this book is about Justice Thomas the human being. However, I think the reader will find that his humanity shines through. To understand what I mean, read the introduction and a few chapters. A truly stirring read.
October 15, 2024
Other reviews say it eloquently so I'll just reiterate: despite what the title and cover would lead you to believe, this isn't a book about Justice Thomas.
At first I thought it was a weird PR stunt to garner positive press for the taciturn justice. And while it seemed kind of cheesy, I was here for it. Justice Thomas is my favorite. I was looking forward to some more insights about him.
That's...not this book. This is about 12 cases, most of which came before the Supreme Court. It humanizes the cases by presenting the personal stories of the victims and lawyers involved as well as carefully explaining the legal arguments at stake. And then it throws in a paragraph or two from Justice Thomas's opinion or dissent. For most of these chapters, his opinion is an anticlimax, more like a footnote or asterisk to the broader story.
This is worth reading if you are curious about the individual cases. But not worth the time if you're interested in learning more about Justice Thomas's jurisprudence.
At first I thought it was a weird PR stunt to garner positive press for the taciturn justice. And while it seemed kind of cheesy, I was here for it. Justice Thomas is my favorite. I was looking forward to some more insights about him.
That's...not this book. This is about 12 cases, most of which came before the Supreme Court. It humanizes the cases by presenting the personal stories of the victims and lawyers involved as well as carefully explaining the legal arguments at stake. And then it throws in a paragraph or two from Justice Thomas's opinion or dissent. For most of these chapters, his opinion is an anticlimax, more like a footnote or asterisk to the broader story.
This is worth reading if you are curious about the individual cases. But not worth the time if you're interested in learning more about Justice Thomas's jurisprudence.
July 18, 2023
I enjoyed this book very much because it told the human story behind each case that was cited. All too often dehumanizing “issues” leads to a poor result for society and marginalization. Learning this backdrop allowed the reader to humanize the issue and see how Clarence Thomas is in fact The People Justice. The cases chosen and his ascent or descent, as the case may be, were a great illustration of his capacity to find a way, within the law, to help those who were in need of justice. In many of the cases, Thomas would look back at the history of the era during the time of the Founders, to glean from this, what they meant by the words used in the constitution. A textualist in every sense.
July 20, 2023
It seems exceedingly strange to relate a justice's cases to "stories"--but especially the SCOTUS justice surely least concerned about the "stories" behind the case and the one most concerned about, you know. the law. But that's what you get here. To be fair, this book is 90% about the cases' backstories. Sometimes Thomas' opinions are dispensed with in a page or less. Thapar's goal is to show that Thomas is not reflexively "against the little guy" or insistently "pro big business." But anyone who actually thought that can clearly not read. And probably wouldn't pick up this book anyway. But I enjoyed the backstories and the justice's commitment to first principles.
December 29, 2023
Intended for a popular audience, the bulk of the author’s research is focused on the parties of the underlying Supreme Court cases that were heard by Justice Thomas. Doesn’t really expound on Justice Thomas’ jurisprudence in great depth or deals with his critics. Ultimately, tries to portray each of Justice Thomas’ originalism as promoting favorable policies for the population at large—which is a fine point, but not one of the stronger reasons to favor originalism, and certainly not a guarantee or its purpose (to paraphrase Scalia, it’s sometimes garbage in and garbage out). Still, I was entertained and informed.
July 8, 2023
Seriously?
Thapar defends the pos Thomas as an "originalist."
Originalist, for sure: he has an original taste for lavish vacations at the expense of Harlan Crow, a billionaire businessman and Republican megadonor. Thomas refused to recuse himself in a case that involved, tangentially, his wife.
How anyone might actually defend this corrupt human garbage is beyond me. It isn't a matter of being politically left or right; it's a matter of morality. And Thomas has publicly proven he has none.
Thapar defends the pos Thomas as an "originalist."
Originalist, for sure: he has an original taste for lavish vacations at the expense of Harlan Crow, a billionaire businessman and Republican megadonor. Thomas refused to recuse himself in a case that involved, tangentially, his wife.
How anyone might actually defend this corrupt human garbage is beyond me. It isn't a matter of being politically left or right; it's a matter of morality. And Thomas has publicly proven he has none.
October 27, 2023
It's a simple and straight-forward book that makes a number of influential SCOTUS cases from Thomas's tenure accessible to the average person. I appreciated how Thapar shows that Thomas's originalist jurisprudence often leads to him siding with "the little guy," often over against the "liberal" justices. The book doesn't get too much into the complexities of Thomas's jurisprudence and certainly not the areas in which he is an outlier among the other justices, but this book is an accessible introduction, not an academic monograph.
April 10, 2024
Wonderful book and makes me love justice Thomas even more! Each chapter is a deep dive into a specific case brought before the court and the people involved. Some were won, some were lost but in each case Justice Thomas was on the side of the every day people. My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Thomas is also very good. People who demonize this man because their leaders tell them to do so, should read both these books.
May 12, 2025
A breezy, accessible walkthrough of some important Supreme Court cases. However, pitched as a book on Clarence Thomas, who is great, I wish it had spent more time unpacking his jurisprudence, which is cabined to a couple paragraphs at the end of each chapter, than just the facts of the cases. And while it shows the human side of these cases in an interesting way, one might be better served reading a summary online or better yet the actual opinions.
August 12, 2023
Great insight to one of the best justices in the history of this great nation. Extremely easy to read, Judge Thapar does a great job making each chapter read like a mini novel which is easy for anyone to become enthralled in - you don’t have to be a lawyer or speak (read) legalese to understand, follow and enjoy this book. Definitely recommend.
August 14, 2023
"'Finding the right answer,' Justice Thomas has observed, 'is often the least difficult problem.' What is needed is the courage to assert that answer and stand firm in the face of the constant winds of protest and criticism.'"
A decent look at Justice Thomas' contributions to SC rulings. I'm glad I read it, though I did enjoy his autobiography more.
A decent look at Justice Thomas' contributions to SC rulings. I'm glad I read it, though I did enjoy his autobiography more.
December 30, 2023
Mixed feelings about this book. I liked the descriptions behind the twelve cases that got to the Supreme Court. Some were really fascinating. However, I did not find the involvement of Clarence Thomas added much and can't say my opinion of him has changed through this reading.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
January 17, 2024
Thapar's overview treatment of Clarence Thomas is interesting, but I thought it a bit shallow. There are a number of cases, but I never got a feel for even how well it is the authors believed they represented the juris prudence of Thomas. I suspect there are, or will be, far more scholarly works on the positive contributions Thomas has made.
August 23, 2024
Don't knock it if you've not tried it.
Though it can be confusing and I'm terribly hesitant about going too in-depth into my analysis.
All's well that ends well, though.
I think you might like this book, too. I got it out since I didn't know why so many people didn't like this Justice. There is no reason that I can determine according to this book. It sounded well enough to me.
Though it can be confusing and I'm terribly hesitant about going too in-depth into my analysis.
All's well that ends well, though.
I think you might like this book, too. I got it out since I didn't know why so many people didn't like this Justice. There is no reason that I can determine according to this book. It sounded well enough to me.
August 6, 2023
The novelistic background to these stories prepares the ground to understand Clarence Thomas's jurisprudence on a deeper level. His principled, originalist approach to the Constitution emerges clearly from this book, just as his championing of individual, constitutional-based rights.
June 25, 2024
This is not a biography, but rather a compilation of cases that have come before the Supreme Court. Each chapter gives the background of the case, and offers insight into Justice Thomas’ rationale in his opinions. The focus is on cases in which Justice Thomas has stood up for the average American.
July 27, 2024
Well-narrated. Helpful.
It’s good to spend time in the opinions of the justices but many might not have the time or commitment to set aside for it. This is a primer into one Originalist work and history in our nations court: definitely must read
It’s good to spend time in the opinions of the justices but many might not have the time or commitment to set aside for it. This is a primer into one Originalist work and history in our nations court: definitely must read
January 20, 2025
This wasn't what I expected, as it appears to be a biography. It actually has details of supreme court cases that Clarence Thomas had a specific opinion about, either majority or minority. While the cases were interesting, I would have rather read a biography.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews