Thom ‧ as, Clar ‧ ence /ˈtɒməs $ ˈtɑː-, ˈklærəns/ BrE AmE
(1948–) a US judge, who is generally considered to be very ↑ conservative . When he was first chosen for the Supreme Court in 1991, a woman called Anita Hill said that he had tried to start a sexual relationship with her while they were working together, even though she did not want it. Thomas said this was not true, and after a lot of discussion the Senate allowed him to become a Supreme Court ↑ justice .