Neil Gorsuch

Nominee for Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
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United States Supreme Court | Judith Schaeffer

On January 31, 2017, President Donald Trump announced the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016. Any nominee to the Supreme Court has the burden of demonstrating that he or she should be confirmed. But particularly given the litmus-test promises that Trump made to his most extreme supporters about positions that his nominee would have to take, there is a profound burden on Gorsuch to prove to the American people that he is faithful to the text and history of the whole Constitution, including the Amendments that have written into our national charter guarantees of equality and liberty for all.

Constitutional Accountability Center scrutinized Judge Gorsuch’s record closely to determine whether, if confirmed, Gorsuch could be counted on to serve as an independent check on the Trump Administration’s authoritarian tendencies, whether he would be a virtual rubber-stamp for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other big business interests that have benefited from the most pro-corporate Supreme Court in decades, and whether he understands that our Constitution as amended protects the fundamental rights of all persons, including people of color, women, and LGBT people. These are all matters as to which members of the Senate Judiciary Committee should carefully question Judge Gorsuch at his confirmation hearing. Ultimately, the Senate confirmed Justice Gorsuch on April 7, 2017 on a largely party-line vote.

Below is a sampling of CAC’s work examining Judge Gorsuch’s record, along with a sampling of media appearances and additional resources.

CAC Analysis

Memorandum & Video Compilation
A Jurisprudence of Doubt: Judge Gorsuch’s Troubling Inconsistency About Disclosing His Constitutional Views
April 4, 2017

Memorandum
CAC’s Opposition to the Confirmation of Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court
March 31, 2017

Issue Brief
The Selective Originalism of Judge Neil Gorsuch: A Review of the Record
March 16, 2017

Issue Brief
Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch: Expected by Big Business to be Another Reliable Vote on the Roberts Court
March 10, 2017

Long-Term Study
Corporations and the Supreme Court

CAC Media Appearances Following the Nomination Announcement

MSNBC
April 6, 2017

Citation by Senator Bob Casey, Jr. during floor speech to Congress
April 4, 2017

MSNBC
March 22, 2017

Citation by Senator Richard Durbin during confirmation hearings
March 20, 2017

PBS NewsHour
January 31, 2017

FOX News
February 4, 2017

NPR’s 1A broadcast
February 1, 2017

Slate’s Amicus podcast
February 3, 2017