Clarence Thomas won’t teach at George Washington University in fall

“Unfortunately, I am writing with some sad news: Justice Thomas has informed me that he is unavailable to co-teach the seminar this fall,” Maggs wrote, according to the Hatchet. “I know that this is disappointing. I am very sorry.”

The university confirmed the report. “Justice Thomas informed GW Law that he is unavailable to co-teach a Constitutional Law Seminar this fall,” a university spokesperson said. “The students were promptly informed of Justice Thomas’ decision by his co-instructor who will continue to offer the seminar this fall.”

Maggs, through an assistant, referred questions to the university. Thomas did not immediately respond to messages left with the Supreme Court’s public information office.

Thomas, on the high court for more than 30 years, has taught at the D.C. law school since 2011. His position there as a lecturer drew controversy this summer after the court’s conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that had established a constitutional right to abortion.

Thomas joined with the majority in the June 24 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. He also wrote a concurring opinion that the court should reconsider past rulings grounded in legal reasoning similar to what the court developed in Roe, including decisions protecting rights to same-sex marriage and access to contraception.

Afterward, thousands signed a petition that called for Thomas to be removed from the law school faculty.

University leaders resisted those demands, saying June 28 that they “steadfastly support the robust exchange of ideas and deliberation” and that “the university will neither terminate Justice Thomas’ employment nor cancel his class in response to his legal opinions.”

GWU defends Thomas appointment amid calls for removal from law school

Thomas’s critics celebrated news Wednesday that the justice was pulling out of his fall teaching plans.

“This is a massive victory,” Jon Kay, who helped organize the petition, said. The 20-year-old GWU junior from South Orange, N.J., who is majoring in international affairs and philosophy, said he was surprised to learn of Thomas’s withdrawal. Groups of students had been planning demonstrations in the fall, he said, on the assumption that Thomas would be teaching. “We are going to continue to work to make sure he doesn’t come back in the spring semester,” Kay said.

But one GWU law professor, Jonathan Turley, called Wednesday’s development “deeply concerning.” Turley lamented what he called a “cancel campaign” at the university.

“Justice Thomas has taught this…