CAC President Doug Kendall: “Today, we should give credit where it is due and note how powerfully Justice Thomas speaks through his concurring opinion for the Court.”

Washington, DC –  The U.S. Supreme Court today unanimously ruled in favor of Delbert Williamson and his family, upholding their right to sue Mazda Motor Co. in state court following the tragic death of Thanh Williamson in a crash of the Mazda motor vehicle in which she was riding, which did not contain a lap/shoulder seatbelt at her seat.  Constitutional Accountability Center filed a brief in the case supporting the Williamsons in their appeal. 

CAC Chief Counsel Elizabeth Wydra said, “As we anticipated, the Court unanimously arrived at the correct result in Williamson, vindicating the rights of the Williamson family to hold corporations to a high standard of consumer safety under state law. The surprise for some progressives, however, might be that it is Justice Clarence Thomas, in this case, whose concurring opinion sets out a vision of constitutional federalism that preserves the right of states to protect the health and safety of their citizens.” Wydra continued, “As CAC argued in its brief in Williamson, and as Justice Thomas’s opinion makes clear, the text and history of the Constitution do not support applying the powerful doctrine of preemption of state law based on judicial speculation and implied policy preferences.”

CAC President Doug Kendall added, “Many commented yesterday on the five-year anniversary of Justice Thomas’s silence on the bench.  Today, we should give credit where it is due and note how powerfully Justice Thomas speaks through his concurring opinion for the Court.  Justice Thomas’s opinion strikes just the right balance between federal power and the ability of states to serve as laboratories of democracy.”

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Resources:

Brief amicus curiae by CAC supporting the Williamson family: http://theusconstitution.org/cases/briefs/delbert-williamson-v-mazda-motor-america-inc/supreme-court-amicus-brief-williamson-v

“CAC Files Supreme Court Brief Supporting a Proper Reading of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and Arguing Against Preemption of State Consumer-Safety Remedies,” August 10, 2010:http://theusconstitution.org/text-history/1907

Opinion of the Court in Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America:http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/08-1314.pdf

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