Clarence Thomas Strays From Righty Line

Clarence Thomas might be the Supreme Court’s rightmost justice, but he’s “never been shy about breaking with conventional wisdom,” writes David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times. In the latest such instance, he upheld injured patients’ right to sue drug companies, arguing that “agency musings”—in this case from the Bush administration—shouldn’t override state laws to protect consumers.

Several years ago, he disagreed with a ruling that allowed federal raids on California homes growing marijuana for their own use, legal in the state but not federally. In the drug case, right-leaning justices Roberts, Alito, and Scalia sided with a drug firm after it was sued for not fairly warning the public of the risks of an anti-nausea drug; Thomas disagreed. (More US Supreme Court stories.)