Justice Thomas Makes It Clear He’s Not Happy With Supremes Who Rejected Florida Lawsuit

Thomas argued that Florida’s allegations against Washington and California were serious because

failing to follow federal commercial licensing laws can create dangerous road conditions and, he said, has contributed to deadly crashes.

Thomas pointed to the fatal Florida highway crash involving truck driver Harjinder Singh, who he said “could not read the road signs,” and argued Florida deserved a chance to pursue its claims.

People in the country illegally who can’t read road signs in English can’t be allowed to drive 80,000-pound tractor-trailers on American highways, he said.

“Federal law and regulations prohibit States from providing commercial driver’s licenses to applicants unless they pass a driver’s test, sufficiently understand the English language, and show appropriate immigration status,” Thomas noted.

Thomas wrote that while the court may exercise discretion when deciding whether to hear ordinary appeals, disputes between states stand on different constitutional footing.

“We have no more right to decline the exercise of jurisdiction which is given, than to usurp that which is not given,” Thomas wrote.

He’s right, of course. Florida now has no other recourse to pursue legal claims for the deaths of three of its residents. So not only were those deaths in vain, the two blue states who issued the Indian trucker a license get off scot-free.

It’s an outrageous development; Thomas and Alito are right to be upset about it. More than that, we have seven justices who think it’s okay to ignore a basic function of the high court: Settling disputes between states.

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