U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas asks questions for 1st time in 10 years, stuns Supreme Court crowd

Justice Clarence Thomas broke 10 years of silence and provoked audible gasps at the Supreme Court on Monday when he posed questions from the bench during an oral argument.

In a case about a federal law that bans people convicted of domestic violence from owning guns, Thomas wanted to know of any other case where breaking a law suspends constitutional rights.

And it wasn't just one question; it was a back-and-forth lasting a few minutes that stunned lawyers, reporters and others in the courtroom.

It was only the second week the court has heard arguments since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, Thomas' friend and fellow conservative.

Thomas for seven years sat next to Scalia, who was famous for aggressive and sometimes combative questions from the bench. Scalia's chair is now draped in black in a tribute to his death on Feb. 13.

Thomas' questions Monday came in case in which the court is considering placing new limits on the reach of the 1996 law. The court is considering an appeal from two Maine men who say their guilty pleas for hitting their partners should not disqualify them from gun ownership.

With about 10 minutes left in the hourlong session, Justice Department lawyer Ilana Eisenstein was about to sit down after asking the justices if there were no further questions. Thomas then caught her by surprise, asking whether a misdemeanor conviction of any other law "suspends a constitutional right."

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