The whole “Thomas doesn’t ask questions” thing has always kind of annoyed me. I’ve argued (and observed) appellate cases (nothing at the Supreme Court level, yet) and have had cold benches (hell, I’ve been in front of an appellate court that issued tentative rulings, and there were no questions involved). It’s not uncommon at all to get no questions from a trial court judge on a motion. Yes, cold benches are less common than they used to be, but they’re not unheard of. As I’ve always understood (hearing from people that know Thomas), his position has always been to let the attorneys make their arguments, that many of the questions would be answered during the arguments. Hell, there was a time when the incessant questioning was considered judicial showboating.