Gorsuch should start answering Supreme Court case questions.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, opened Judge Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation hearing this week by telling Gorsuch that he “can’t answer” questions about whether prior Supreme Court cases were correctly decided. So far, Gorsuch has obliged the senator by saying little more about the court’s past precedents other than that they are, indeed, precedents.
Sen. Grassley is mistaken. Judge Gorsuch can, and should, answer these questions.
There are many things Supreme Court nominees refuse to talk about at their confirmation hearings. They won’t talk about pending cases, rarely give opinions about current constitutional controversies, and say as little as possible about Roe v. Wade.This reticence can be about self-preservation (in the case of Roe v. Wade) or the nominee’s perception of judicial propriety (in the case of pending cases and current controversies). That can create an impression that nominees say nothing of consequence at the hearings and that the whole thing is just an exercise in avoiding gaffes.
But nominees do answer questions about past Supreme Court decisions. Indeed, they have in the past. And Gorsuch should too.
Two comprehensive studies, each carefully reviewing what actually happens at confirmation hearings, have found that nominees routinely give meaningful answers to questions about important cases. These studies show that the confirmation hearings function as a forum in which nominees are expected to agree with the current constitutional consensus, even as they dodge questions about more contested issues. For our most recent nominees, that has included opining on many of the specific cases Sen. Grassley mentioned this week, including District of Columbia v. Heller, Gideon v. Wainwright, andGriswold v. Connecticut.
AdvertisementJustice Sonia Sotomayor’s discussion of Heller during her hearingis a good example. Heller established that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms. The case was controversial but taps into a belief held by a majority of Americans that this is something our Constitution protects. Sotomayor was the first nominee to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee after Heller was decided. In the face of the questions from both Democratic and Republican senators, she repeatedly praised the decision. “I understand how important the right to bear arms is to many, many Americans,” she said. “In fact, one of my godchildren is a member of the NRA, and I have friends who hunt. I understand the individual right fully that the Supreme Court recognized in Heller.” When asked by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., whether she considered herself bound by Heller, Sotomayor said, “Absolutely.” (She may not have lived up to that affirmation, but that’s a different story.)
Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AdvertisementWhat did Gorsuch say? “It is a precedent of the United States Supreme Court and as a good judge you don’t approach that question anew as if it had never been decided.”
The contrast is even starker when we compare Gorsuch with his more conservative predecessors. Justice Anthony Kennedy spoke glowingly of Gideon v. Wainwright and also affirmed a startlingly expansive view of fundamental privacy rights—the rights protected in Griswold. Justice Clarence Thomas said “yes” when asked whether the right to marital and family privacy was a fundamental liberty protected by the Constitution. Then he went even further, stating that he had “no quarrel” with Griswold. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, testifying—like Gorsuch—before friendly, Republican-led Senates, did the same. Alito specifically denounced the narrow view of privacy rights that had gotten Judge Robert Bork into trouble and stated that Griswold had been correctly decided. Roberts affirmed that privacy is part of the liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause and, like Alito, said that he accepted the court’s decision in Griswold.
AdvertisementThese affirmations, made repeatedly and consistently by prior nominees, are important. They reassure the Senate and the country that the person who wants to sit on the Supreme Court accepts that the results in these once-controversial cases have entered into our constitutional mainstream and are no longer up for debate. Married people can’t be denied the right to use birth control. Criminal defendants have a right to an attorney. And people have a right to bear arms.
If Judge Gorsuch agrees with these statements, he should say so. And if he doesn’t, well, he should say that too.
Tweet Share Share Comment(责任编辑:行业动态)
- 雨城区疾控中心提示:科学补碘 防治碘缺乏病
- Jared Kushner has never failed to choose blood over ideals.
- The best stuff Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus announced at F8
- 春节期间降水少 适合走亲访友
- Spate of defections show Kim Jong
- Pragmocracy Now
- Beto O'Rourke livestreamed his haircut. Yes, his haircut.
- Abe welcomes North Korea's decision to halt nuclear, missile tests
- Reverse cat eyeliner is the weird makeup trend du jour. Make it stop.
- Number Representations in Computer Hardware
- On trade, Trump is flip
- Facebook, Google, Twitter join forces to fight online extremism
- Jared Kushner has never failed to choose blood over ideals.
-
Apple finally sends out payments for MacBook's butterfly keyboard settlement
Apple is finally paying out a $50 million settlement over its defective MacBook butterfly keyboards. ...[详细] -
广东省级重点龙头企业上新!新增216家、214家年度监测合格
广东省级重点龙头企业上新!新增216家、214家年度监测合格_南方+_南方plus3月11日,广东省农业农村厅发布了《关于2023年拟新认定省重点农业龙头企业和监测合格企业的公示》下称《公示》),《公 ...[详细] -
Cabinet OKs revised law to better compensate victims of humidifier sanitizers
(Yonhap)A revised law intended to expand the scope of diseases caused by the use of humidifier steri ...[详细] -
Chinese Communist Party indoctrination app dominates App Store
The Chinese Communist Party's indoctrination app is absolutely crushing it. Study the Great Nation, ...[详细] -
Eng name ODI, T20I squads for Aus series
England is set to take on Australia at home in September in a three-match T20I series, followed by f ...[详细] -
Wayne Rooney's son Kai signs for Man United
MANCHESTER:Wayne Rooney's son, Kai, has signed for Manchester United, the former United and Engl ...[详细] -
Perez set to replace Albon at Red Bull
LONDON:Mexican Sergio Perez is set to replace Alexander Albon at the Red Bull Formula One team next ...[详细] -
Facebook's facial recognition feature could help find missing persons
Facebook's new facial recognition features makes some people uneasy, but the tool could help find mi ...[详细] -
Amazon Android Days sale 2024: Save on unlocked phones, tablets, and more
Table of ContentsTable of ContentsUPDATE: Aug. 28, 2024, 1:50 p.m. EDT This story has been updated w ...[详细] -
Kim's 'bitter sorrow' as bus crash kills 32 Chinese tourists [PHOTOS]
Kim Jong-un consoles a Chinese tourist who was injured in Sunday's bus accident in North Korea. / Yo ...[详细]
- 实干担当抓落实 多措并举促发展
- Net neutrality is pretty much dead. Here's what that means.
- Liquid system stores solar energy for years and releases it on demand
- A primer on the French election: Who is running, and how it could go very bad.
- Prime exclusive deal: $50 off Govee floor lamp
- Old container promises treasure trove of Maradona memorabilia
- Jared Kushner has never failed to choose blood over ideals.