Blog 3.6

1. Where is Neil Gorsuch currently working?

2. Why are Democrats likely to attempt to fight this nomination?

3. How are people predicting the way he might rule on abortion cases that reach the court?

4. How would you describe his views on religious freedom?

5. What opinions about the role of judges does he share with former Justice Scalia?

6. What percentage of all federal court cases end up being decided by a split SCOTUS?

7. What does that tell you about the vast majority of federal court cases?

8. Why do people think that Gorsuch will have an important role in swaying "swing vote" Anthony Kennedy on so many issues?

Answers

1. "Neil Gorsuch [is] a 49-year-old federal appeals court judge on the 10th Circuit."

2. "A Democratic filibuster motivated by Republicans’ successful obstruction of President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, for this same seat last year is a certainty for any nominee."

3. He believes in a right to life, so he is likely to vote that way as well.

4. He's a bit too broad for my liking on his views of religious freedom, and I think his views run the risk of letting citizens abuse it, but that's just me.

5. They both primarily believe in just looking at the Constitution and other written laws. "Both are textualists, concerned primarily in the literal text of laws and less in their legislative history or social context of passage."

6. "Supreme Court cases that don’t result in a unanimous decision account for only 0.014 percent of all federal court cases."

7. We don't know about most of 'em 'cause most don't make headline news.

8. "Beyond his overall jurisprudence, however, he would be the first justice ever to serve alongside a justice for whom he clerked, namely Anthony Kennedy... That gives conservatives some hope that Gorsuch will be able to sway Kennedy on crucial cases, solidifying the conservative bloc and ensuring a 5-4 conservative majority on key issues."