2005 term United States Supreme Court opinions of Clarence Thomas

The 2005 term of the Supreme Court of the United States began October 3, 2005, and concluded October 1, 2006. This was the fifteenth term of Associate Justice Clarence Thomas's tenure on the Court.
Clarence Thomas 2005 term statistics 8 Majority or Plurality 2 Concurrence 0 Other 8 Dissent 2 Concurrence/dissent Total = 20 Bench opinions = 19 Opinions relating to orders = 1 In-chambers opinions = 0 Unanimous opinions: 3 Most joined by: Scalia (13) Least joined by: O'Connor (2)[1]

Type	Case	Citation	Issues	Joined by	Other opinions
	Wagnon v. Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation	546 U.S. 95 (2005)		Roberts, Stevens, O'Connor, Scalia, Souter, Breyer	Ginsburg
	Gonzales v. Oregon	546 U.S. 243 (2006)			Kennedy Scalia
	Central Virginia Community College v. Katz	546 U.S. 356 (2006)		Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy	Stevens
	Unitherm Food Systems, Inc. v. Swift-Eckrich, Inc.	546 U.S. 394 (2006)		Roberts, O'Connor, Scalia, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer	Stevens
Alito did not participate.
	Buckeye Check Cashing, Inc. v. Cardegna	546 U.S. 440 (2006)	Whether illegality of contract under state law precludes arbitration clause		Scalia
Thomas reiterated his belief that the Federal Arbitration Act does not preclude state law.
	Dolan v. United States Postal Service	546 U.S. 481 (2006)	Statutory immunity of USPS from suit		Kennedy
	Texaco, Inc. v. Dagher	547 U.S. 1 (2006)	antitrust  • applicability to joint ventures	Unanimous
	Georgia v. Randolph	547 U.S. 103 (2006)			Souter Stevens Breyer Roberts Scalia
	Northern Ins. Co. of N.Y. v. Chatham County	547 U.S. 189 (2006)	U.S. Const. amend. XI  • Sovereign immunity of counties	Unanimous
	Jones v. Flowers	547 U.S. 220 (2006)	Due process  • U.S. Const. amend. XIV  • notice requirements to property owner prior to tax sale	Scalia, Kennedy	Roberts
	eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C.	547 U.S. 388 (2006)	patent law	Unanimous	Roberts Kennedy
	Anza v. Ideal Steel Supply Corp.	547 U.S. 451 (2006)			Kennedy Scalia Breyer
Thomas also joined the majority in part.
	Davis v. Washington	547 U.S. 813 (2006)			Scalia
	Samson v. California	547 U.S. 843 (2006)		Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Alito	Stevens
	Rangel-Reyes v. United States	547 U.S. 1200 (2006)	Rights of the accused  • U.S. Const. amend. VI  • right to a jury trial		Stevens
Thomas dissented from the denial of certiorari, which he thought should be granted so the Court could rule that the fact of a prior conviction, when an element of a crime, should be decided by a jury. Thomas believed this exception to the Apprendi rule was not found within the Constitution itself, but only derived from prior precedent that a majority of the Court no longer supported. "The Court’s duty to resolve this matter is particularly compelling, because we are the only court authorized to do so. And until we do so, countless criminal defendants will be denied the full protection afforded by the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, notwithstanding the agreement of a majority of the Court that this result is unconstitutional. There is no good reason to allow such a state of affairs to persist."
	Kansas v. Marsh	548 U.S. 163 (2006)	death penalty	Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Alito	Scalia Stevens Souter
	Washington v. Recuenco	548 U.S. 212 (2006)		Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Breyer, Alito	Kennedy Stevens Ginsburg
	Randall v. Sorrell	548 U.S. 230 (2006)		Scalia	Breyer Kennedy Alito Stevens Souter
	Beard v. Banks	548 U.S. 521 (2006)		Scalia	Breyer Stevens Ginsburg
	Hamdan v. Rumsfeld	548 U.S. 557 (2006)	Habeas corpus  • presidential authority to try prisoners in military commissions	Scalia; Alito (in part)	Stevens Kennedy Breyer Scalia Alito

Notes

1. Justice O'Connor retired January 31, 2006. Of the justices who participated the entire term, Justice Stevens joined the fewest of Thomas's opinions, with four.

References

• 2005 Term Opinions of the Court, Supreme Court of the United States, archived from the original on May 16, 2012, retrieved December 15, 2016.
• 2005 Term Opinions Relating to Orders, Supreme Court of the United States, archived from the original on May 27, 2010, retrieved December 15, 2016.
• 2005 Term In-Chambers Opinions, Supreme Court of the United States, archived from the original on May 16, 2012, retrieved December 15, 2016.