CLARENCE THE GREAT:  I posted a screen shot of Justice Thomas’s citation in my brief on Facebook a day or so ago.  I got back this sweet story about Justice Thomas from a high school friend of mine who is a retired Northern Virginia police officer:

Not bad at all, having a Justice cite you. Great recognition for your work. He is the only living Justice I have met. Many years ago, Al Sharpton brought two bus loads of friends to protest at Justice Thomas’s home. I had a discussion with Mr. Sharpton about the Code of Virginia, private property rights (it was a private subdivision), impeding the flow of traffic, the prohibition on picketing private homes – and the likelihood that an out of state resident would likely not be released on a PR bond, prior to an arraignment the next day  For some reason, he and his friends decided to go home.

Justice Thomas came by the Police Station a few days later to thank everyone for keeping his family safe.  In a community where so many people are “special”, he is the only prominent person I could recall taking the time to express appreciation.

It’s a good story about Sharpton too.  Both were playing to type.