Supreme Court Nominations

ABA rates Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch ‘well qualified’

The American Bar Association has rated Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, “well qualified.” The rating (PDF) came Thursday from the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, whose purpose is to evaluate the qualifications of nominees to federal judgeships. The committee’s goal is to…

Mar 9, 2017 7:01 PM CST

Gorsuch could set back special-education law if confirmed to SCOTUS, report alleges

If Neil M. Gorsuch is confirmed for the U.S. Supreme Court, special-education protections for schoolchildren could be in jeopardy, according to the National Education Association. The NEA released a report Thursday, EdWeek.org reports. Gorsuch as a 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge “erected technical legal barriers” against lawsuits brought…

Mar 9, 2017 2:12 PM CST

As a college journalist, SCOTUS nominee Gorsuch defended conservatism, gave space to the other side

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch was a student journalist at Columbia University in the 1980s who defended conservatism in op-eds and co-founded an opinion-oriented newspaper. Gorsuch wrote for the opinion pages of the college daily, edited a political periodical, and co-founded a paper called the Federalist that published political…

Mar 6, 2017 7:00 AM CST

Supreme Court nominee Gorsuch has a plan to revive the near-extinct civil jury trial

Juries try less than 1 percent of civil cases in the federal court system, and U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has a plan to do something about it. Gorsuch has joined with Circuit Judge Susan Graber to propose changing federal procedural rules to make civil jury trials the default, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports.

Mar 1, 2017 10:58 AM CST

Ted Cruz predicts a Supreme Court vacancy by this summer; does he know something we don’t?

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on Thursday predicted there will be another vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court by this summer. The Republican senator from Texas made his prediction at the Conservative Political Action Conference, report Talking Points Memo, the Washington Post and the Washington Examiner. “I think we’ll have another…

Feb 23, 2017 12:22 PM CST

ABA will submit judicial rating for SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch

The ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary is in the process of evaluating the U.S. Supreme Court nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch. The committee will share the rating information with the administration and the Senate Judiciary Committee prior to the Gorsuch’s hearing. The hearing is scheduled to begin March…

Feb 21, 2017 1:56 PM CST

Gorsuch could be more conservative than Justice Clarence Thomas, study concludes

If U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch wins confirmation, he could be the most conservative justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, according to an analysis by two political science professors. Their study examined U.S. Supreme Court cases that reviewed opinions by the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after…

Feb 15, 2017 9:22 AM CST

SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch calls attacks on judiciary ‘demoralizing’ and ‘disheartening’

Updated: U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch told Sen. Richard Blumenthal that President Trump’s attacks on the judiciary are “demoralizing” and “disheartening,” according to the senator and Gorsuch aides who initially confirmed the account. Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, told reporters that Gorsuch made the comment in a private meeting Wednesday,…

Feb 8, 2017 4:43 PM CST

Political appointees nomination process is ‘so brutal’ that qualified candidates shy away

Notwithstanding the swiftness of several early, high-level presidential appointments in the Trump administration, the process for nominating, vetting and confirming political appointees has become more partisan, politicized and brutal in recent years. And there is no sign it will lighten up. That’s the takeaway from comments by five panelists with…

Feb 4, 2017 1:35 PM CST

SCOTUS runner-up, rumored to be traveling to DC for the big announcement, drove to Altoona instead

Trump administration officials reportedly told several journalists that Judge Thomas Hardiman, said to be a SCOTUS nominee finalist, was traveling to Washington, D.C., for Trump’s nominee announcement on Tuesday. But Hardiman, of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, never made it beyond Altoona, Pennsylvania, the New York Times…

Feb 2, 2017 10:02 AM CST

Will Kennedy retire? Gorsuch pick may have been intended to reassure him about a successor

If Judge Neil Gorsuch is confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, he will be working alongside a justice for whom he once clerked: Anthony M. Kennedy. That will be a first for the U.S. Supreme Court. The link to Kennedy may have been intended to serve as notice to the…

Feb 1, 2017 10:29 AM CST

Gorsuch writes reader-grabbing opinions with fact summaries that are ‘a form of wry nonfiction’

The late Justice Antonin Scalia was known for his memorable legal writing, filling his opinions with little-used words such as “argle-bargle” and barbs aimed at those who disagree with him. The judge nominated to take his place, Neil Gorsuch of the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, also has…

Feb 1, 2017 9:43 AM CST

Trump nominates Judge Neil Gorsuch to Supreme Court

Updated: President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday evening that he is nominating Judge Neil Gorsuch of the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump said his nomination of Gorsuch fulfilled his pledge to find a judge who…

Jan 31, 2017 7:03 PM CST

Trump reportedly builds announcement suspense by bringing two SCOTUS shortlisters to DC

Updated: President Donald Trump is reportedly bringing two finalists from his U.S. Supreme Court shortlist to Washington in advance of his evening announcement on his choice to fill the seat belonging to the late Justice Antonin Scalia. The two finalists are Judge Neil Gorsuch of the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit…

Jan 31, 2017 12:04 PM CST

Trump moves up his Supreme Court announcement as administration readies battle plan

President Trump has changed the timetable for announcing his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump had originally planned to make the announcement on Thursday, but he now says he will make the announcement on Tuesday evening, report the New York Times, CBS News, Politico and USA Today. Trump revealed…

Jan 30, 2017 11:37 AM CST