Considering the Nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley has announced his intention to begin hearings on March 20th for President Trump’s nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, Judge Neil Gorsuch. Numerous questions about Gorsuch’s record remain, given his decade on the federal bench, private law practice, teaching at the University of Colorado Law School, and service in the Department of Justice. What have been the major themes of his writings and jurisprudence and how do they reflect his vision of the law? How would his confirmation affect the Supreme Court institutionally and jurisprudentially? How should the unprecedented obstruction of President Obama’s nominee to fill the seat, D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Merrick Garland, play into the Senate’s consideration of Gorsuch? At a time when attacks on judicial independence by the administration are a disturbingly regular occurrence, how does Gorsuch understand the role of the judiciary and its relationship to the other branches of government? And what questions should Senators ask to make sure they and the public have answers to all of the above?

Welcome:
Caroline Fredrickson, President, American Constitution Society for Law & Policy

Panelists:
Amy Howe, ‎Editor and Reporter at SCOTUSblog, Moderator
Christopher Kang, National Director, National Council of Asian Pacific Americans and Deputy White House Counsel to President Barack Obama
Louise Melling, Deputy Legal Director and Director of Center for Liberty, ACLU
Matthew Wessler, Principal, Gupta Wessler PLLC