Judiciary Watch

Trump nominates Gorsuch to Supreme Court

President Trump tonight named Hon. Neil M. Gorsuch as his pick to fill an almost year-long vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court.  Gorsuch was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit by President George W. Bush in 2006.  He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and went on to clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Byron R. White and Anthony M. Kennedy.  Prior to taking the bench, Gorsuch was a Deputy Associate Attorney General, assisting in managing the Justice Department's civil litigation components—Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Environment and Natural Resources, and Tax. At 49, he is the youngest person nominated to the court in 25 years.

Lawyers interviewed for the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary called Gorsuch a “brilliant mind in terms of raw talent” and described him as “calm and courteous” and “professional.”  One lawyer said of Gorsuch, “He is characterized as a judge who likes to play with his food before he eats it. He will ask hypotheticals of both sides, and most judges do not ask the hypotheticals. Most judges go after the side for which they don't think much of their arguments. He is equally probing. He is more policy oriented. How far are you willing to push your argument? He’s an abstract reasoner.”  The general consensus on him is that he is conservative-minded, but fair.  “I didn't detect a bias.” “He is conservative but not like the Tea Party.” “I think he applies the law. He feels confined applying the law. They come pretty square cornered in the 10th Circuit.” “He is conservative. I feel like his vote is available to me as a defense lawyer, but he comes to cases with a more conservative point of view.”

Trump to announce Supreme Court pick next week

President Trump has said that his pick to fill an almost year-long vacancy on the U.S Supreme Court will come next week.  According to the New York Times, the top three contenders for the nomination are Hon. William H. Pryor Jr. of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Hon. Neil M. Gorsuch of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Hon. Thomas M. Hardiman of the 3d Circuit Court of Appeals.  Lawyers interviewed for the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary described Hardiman as “fair” and “moderately conservative”; they said Gorsuch is “conservative, but not like the Tea Party”; and said Pryor is “one of the more conservative judges on a conservative court.”