SCOTUS Brief: Democrats’ “Empty” & “Misguided” Case Against Judge Gorsuch
March 15, 2017
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5 Days until Senate Judiciary Committee hearing begins
- Judicial Crisis Network Chief Counsel and Policy Director Carrie Severino and two former clerks to Judge Neil Gorsuch reacted to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) press conference this morning.
JCN’s Severino and Former Gorsuch Clerks React to Schumer’s Press Conference
Carrie Severino, Chief Counsel and Policy Director for Judicial Crisis Network:
“It seems Senator Schumer is more interested in creating gridlock and grandstanding with the far left than studying Judge Gorsuch’s 200-plus opinions, most of those majority opinions. Even in the few cases cherry picked by Senator Schumer, his accusations fall flat because they often include unanimous opinions joined by Clinton-appointed judges. Anyone seriously reviewing the Judge’s record finds that he is a fair and independent judge who looks at the text of law and the Constitution to decide cases. Judge Gorsuch’s mainstream approach to the law has earned him widespread bipartisan support from conservatives and liberals, as well as from his colleagues and former Obama Administration officials.”
Michael Kinneally, former clerk for Judge Gorsuch and Justice Antonin Scalia:
“Judge Gorsuch has issued over 200 opinions, an overwhelming number of those unanimous majority opinions. The Supreme Court has not reversed a single decision he has authored. Judge Gorsuch’s record on the bench is a primary reason he has received broad bipartisan support and the American Bar Association’s highest rating. If critics took the time to evaluate Judge Gorsuch’s writings fairly, they would quickly learn why both Democratic and Republican colleagues and former Obama Administration officials support his confirmation to the Supreme Court.”
Jamil Jaffer, former clerk for Judge Gorsuch:
“The latest attacks on Judge Gorsuch are right out of the expected playbook. In fact, we’ve seen this right from the day he was nominated: that night, I was on the steps of the Supreme Court and saw various protesters holding signs saying “Oppose ______” so they could just fill in the name of whomever was nominated. The protestors didn’t really care who the nominee was nor the facts about the nominee’s record.
“And then the very next day, we saw House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi attack Judge Gorsuch as anti-this and anti-that with no real content to back it up. Today’s news conference is more of the same: cherry-picking and mischaracterizing Judge Gorsuch’s record to fit a preexisiting narrative.
“The reality is that Judge Gorsuch is a highly qualified, mainstream nominee with a ten-year record of applying the law in a fair and evenhanded manner to anyone that comes before him. Indeed, his mainstream record is a primary reason he has twice received the ABA’s highest rating for a judge and why he is widely respected across party and ideological lines.
“The American people have already seen the facts and they will have the change see more about Judge Gorsuch and honorable, decent, and compassionate man and great judge that he is next week when he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
- Ed Whelan writes in National Review that the Democrats are pressing an empty case against Judge Gorsuch.
National Review: Democrats’ Empty Case Against Gorsuch
“It’s not Gorsuch’s job to be a ‘friend of the little guy’ (as the article’s headline sums up the Democrats’ position) or a friend of the big guy or a friend of any party. So, yes, individuals whose plights win our sympathy will lose their cases when they have weak legal claims. That’s what the rule of law means.”
- Harvard Law Professor and former Justice David Souter clerk Noah Feldman writes in Bloomberg View that Democrats’ attacks on Judge Gorsuch are “a truly terrible idea.”
Feldman: Democrats’ Misguided Argument Against Gorsuch
“I’m not sure who decided that the Democratic critique of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch would be that he doesn’t side with the little guy. It’s a truly terrible idea…siding with workers against employers isn’t a jurisprudential position. It’s a political stance. And justices — including progressive justices — shouldn’t decide cases based on who the parties are. They should decide cases based on their beliefs about how the law should be interpreted…It’s perfectly fine to resist Gorsuch for not adhering to a progressive jurisprudence that takes seriously the government’s duty to regulate the market. But it isn’t fine to say he should side with workers against employers or parents against school districts. The rule of law isn’t liberal or conservative — and it shouldn’t be.”
- Scott Whitlock, writing for Newsbusters, notes that while the New York Times “frets” over Judge Gorsuch’s connection to Philip Anschutz but never once mention Sen. Michael Bennet’s (D-CO) own ties to Anschutz.
Newsbusters: : NYT Frets Over Gorsuch’s Connection to ‘Secretive Billionaire,’ Skips Dem Link
“The New York Times on Wednesday published an ominous front page story about Neil Gorsuch’s “web of ties to secretive billionaire.” The article by Charlie Savage and Julie Turkewitz never once mentioned that Democratic senator Michael Bennet, who shares the home state of Colorado with the Supreme Court nominee, also has connections to billionaire Philip F. Anschultz.”
- Alex Griswold also notes for the Washington Free Beacon that the New York Times attacked Judge Gorsuch for ties to Philip Anschutz without noting Sen. Bennet’s own relationship with Anschutz.
“The New York Times published a front-page story Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and his ties to a ‘secretive billionaire,’ despite never devoting equal coverage on a Democratic senator who had even more direct ties to the same tycoon. The billionaire is Philip F. Anschutz, who built an empire out of an oil and gas firm. Anschutz and Gorsuch both share Colorado as a home state, and Gorsuch, whose father was a well-known Colorado Republican, was ‘drawn into [Anschutz’s] orbit,’ according to the Times…Bennet’s ties to Anschutz were highlighted in 2010 by The Denver Post, which reported that ‘Colorado billionaire Phil Anschutz is famous for embracing conservative causes, but he also is a friend and former boss of Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet’s.’ The Times may be concerned over Gorsuch’s ‘web of ties’ to Anschutz, but The Denver Post noted that ‘executives and family members associated with Anschutz Co., Anschutz Group or Anschutz Investments donated more to Bennet… than to any other federal candidate.’”
- JCN’s Carrie Severino writes at National Review that liberal attacks on Judge Gorsuch’s record on cases concerning disabilities are “easily refuted.”
Severino: Setting the Record Straight on Gorsuch and Disabilities
“The case in question is Thompson School District v. Luke, for which Gorsuch wrote the unanimous opinion — joined in full by Judge Mary Briscoe, a liberal Clinton appointee — that applied longstanding case law from the Supreme Court and the Tenth Circuit… the caricature of Judge Gorsuch as a Dickensian villain couldn’t be further from the truth. Not only does this story misrepresent the Tenth Circuit’s ruling in Thompson, but it also omits a long history in which the Supreme Court nominee has ruled in favor of defending the rights of the disabled.”
