A Gallup poll carried out in 2023 found that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was well regarded among Republicans, with 67% of GOP voters viewing him favorably.

Those ratings could well increase after Thomas recently dropped a rhetorical bomb when discussing the role of precedent.  

Thomas says "precedent should be respectful of our legal tradition"

According to USA Today, the Supreme Court justice's comments were made as he addressed an audience at Catholic University's Columbus School of Law this past Thursday.

"At some point we need to think about what we're doing with stare decisis," Justice Clarence Thomas was quoted as telling those in attendance.

Latin for "to stand by things decided," stare decisis refers to the legal doctrine which holds that courts should look to legal precedent when deciding cases.

"And it's not some sort of talismanic deal where you can just say 'stare decisis' and not think, turn off the brain," Thomas insisted.

Although Thomas holds respect for precedent, he stressed that "the precedent should be respectful of our legal tradition and our country and our laws and be based on something, not just something that somebody dreamt up and others went along with."

It published a breakdown showing that in the 17 opinions which had been published as of March 16, Thomas authored dissents in four of them.

By comparison, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Ketanji Brown Jackson each dissented three time. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented twice and Justice Elena Kagan dissented once.

Meanwhile, Justice Amy Coney Barret dissented once in full and twice in part whereas Justice Samuel Alito dissented once in full and once in part.

Legal expert: Thomas "has his own views of the Constitution and federal laws"

Those figures did not come as a surprise to Stephen Wermiel, who serves as a professor at American University Washington College of Law.

"Justice Thomas has long written more dissenting and concurring opinions than just about anyone else on the Court," Wermiel told Newsweek.

"He has his own views of the Constitution and federal laws, and he has never been shy about putting them out there whenever the spirit moves him," the legal expert added.