U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas spoke to University of Utah law students Wednesday as part of a private visit to Utah.

Thomas came to Utah this week on invitation from the U.'s law school, which has been hoping to get a Supreme Court justice to speak on campus for some time, said Hiram Chodosh, dean of the law school.

"Justice Thomas is a very inspiring figure; he's overcome tremendous obstacles. He's a very independent person; he has great freedom of mind," Chodosh said. "I think it's inspiring for students to hear his testimony on the things he overcame and how he overcame them, and to see a little bit of themselves in him."

Although students were notified of the visit, Chodosh said school leaders agreed with Thomas not to let the word out about his visit in advance. That move, he said, was partly for security reasons and partly to facilitate a "candid and realistic exchange" with students.

"I wanted the environment to be as intimate and personal as it could be. Publicity in advance of his visit was inconsistent with that kind of environment," Chodosh said. "The justice has a very serious security detail and the federal marshals had advised us that we should not release information in advance of his visit."

During his overnight visit, Thomas spoke to several classes, as well as to the law school as a whole about what students should take with them from the program.

Thomas' visit was paid for by a private endowment for the Distinguished Juror in Residence program.

After his appearance at the U., Thomas spoke with members of the Utah Minority Bar and the student Minority Law Caucus at a luncheon at an undisclosed downtown hotel.

Utah Minority Bar president Karthik Nadesan said he received permission from Thomas' office to speak in general about the presentation but could not go into much detail.

In a rare move for a U.S. Supreme Court justice, Thomas discussed his judicial views and philosophy with minority bar members as well as took questions. Nadesan said he could not talk about the justice's views.

However, Thomas also spoke about the importance of offering encouragement to minorities and disadvantaged populations to better themselves through education and the importance of communities offering the support they need, even at the secondary school level, to become attorneys.

"I thought it was great to have a Supreme Court justice take an interest in the minority bar," Nadesan said, adding it was Thomas himself who reached out to Utah minority attorneys and offered to come and speak.

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