Justice Clarence Thomas accused the Supreme Court of abandoning its constitutional duty after the majority refused to hear Florida’s lawsuit challenging California and Washington’s commercial driver’s license policies for undocumented immigrants.
Florida had alleged that California and Washington violated federal standards by issuing commercial driver’s licenses to people in the country illegally without requiring English proficiency and lawful immigration status. The state argued the policies created public safety risks on American highways.
What Thomas Argued
Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, said the Supreme Court had a constitutional obligation to hear the dispute. “If this Court does not exercise jurisdiction over a controversy between two States, then the complaining State has no judicial forum in which to seek relief,” Thomas wrote.
The Supreme Court is the only venue where lawsuits between states can be filed. Thomas emphasized that the court cannot decline jurisdiction over such cases because of constitutional requirements, not discretion.
Thomas pointed to a fatal Florida highway crash involving truck driver Harjinder Singh as evidence of the danger. He noted that Singh “could not read the road signs” and argued Florida deserved an opportunity to pursue its claims about the licensing policies.
The Safety Argument
Federal law requires commercial driver applicants to pass a driver’s test, demonstrate sufficient English language skills, and show lawful immigration status. Thomas stressed that allowing drivers who cannot read English road signs to operate 80,000-pound tractor-trailers violates these requirements.
“We have no more right to decline the exercise of jurisdiction which is given, than to usurp that which is not given,” Thomas wrote in his statement.
Without the Supreme Court’s involvement, Florida has no legal recourse to challenge the licensing practices of the two states.
This story has been updated. CNN’s legal team contributed to this report.
