US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta The notoriously silent Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas asked several questions during arguments Monday in a case about a ban on gun ownership for domestic-violence offenders.

Thomas, in a "booming baritone," spoke for what seemed like a "lengthy stretch," Cristian Farias wrote in HuffPost Politics.

The case that inspired Thomas to speak centers on whether a conviction for "reckless" domestic assault counts as a federal "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence," which would bar an offender from firearms possession under federal law. (Thirty-four states have "reckless" assault statutes, meaning carelessness and not necessarily intent caused an injury, according to SCOTUSBlog.)

Thomas' line of questioning seemed to suggest that he didn't favor gun bans for misdemeanor domestic-violence offenders and thought such bans could be a slippery slope leading to the denial of other constitutional rights for people convicted of misdemeanors.

"Can you give me a — this is a misdemeanor violation. It suspends a constitutional right. Can you give me another area where a misdemeanor question suspends a constitutional right?" Thomas asked a lawyer for the federal government, Ilana Eisenstein, according to the court transcript.

Later, he added, "Well, I'm — I'm looking at the — you're saying that recklessness is sufficient to trigger a violation — misdemeanor violation of domestic conduct that results in a lifetime ban on possession of a gun, which, at least as of now, is still a constitutional right."

BloombergBNA's Kimberly Robinson tweeted that none of the other justices seemed surprised, but others in the courtroom were reportedly shocked by the sudden interrogation from Thomas.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas arrives for inauguration ceremonies on the West front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, January 21, 2013. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque "Everyone leaned in disbelieving," Slate's Dahlia Lithwick, who was in the courtroom, told CNN. "The colloquy went back and forth several times with Thomas pressing the assistant solicitor general."

Thomas' questions came right after the lawyer arguing for the ban asked whether there were any more questions for her.

Rory Little, a law professor, had said in Scotusblog that the case would be a bit of a "snoozer" because the justices would have to wade through a "convoluted path" of "statutory and common-law precedents."

Last Monday was the first time the high court heard oral arguments since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. That day also marked 10 years since Thomas had asked a question from the bench.

During those 10 years, Thomas had not even spoken from the bench during oral arguments, except to crack a joke about Yale in 2013.

Thomas hasn't been completely mum on why he usually asks no questions.

At an event in North Carolina in June 2012, Thomas said he would get rid of oral arguments if he could, which sheds some light on why he might not be such an eager participant in them.

Thomas has also pointed to his Southern background and introverted nature as reasons for his epic silence.

"I don't see where that advances anything," Thomas said at a speech in 2012, referring to asking questions. "Maybe it's the Southerner in me. Maybe it's the introvert in me, I don't know. I think that when somebody's talking, somebody ought to listen."

Jay Wexler, a former clerk for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has previously told Business Insider that Thomas is actually the most approachable of the justices.

"He gets kind of a bad rap because he doesn't talk at oral arguments," Wexler told us. "I think it's fine that he doesn't talk at oral arguments."

Other clerks at the Supreme Court also didn't hold Thomas' silence against him, according to Wexler. They took Thomas at his word that he just didn't think questions were all that helpful.

By contrast, Scalia often dominated the questioning during oral arguments.

"Oral argument ... changed completely after he went on the bench. I will miss that," Carter Phillips, who has argued more Supreme Court cases than any other lawyer in private practice, told Business Insider in an email after Scalia's death.

Phillips added: "Prior to him, the normal argument might generate 10-15 questions in 30 minutes. Sometimes even fewer. He [Scalia] would ask 10-15 questions by himself."