Supreme Court associate justice nominee Neil Gorsuch turned in to the Senate Judiciary Committee answers to a lengthy questionnaire, providing more details of his professional and personal history and including some of the most significant cases he presided over.
The judge also provided details on his entire judicial selection process.
“On January 30, 2017, I received a call from the President informing me that he would nominate me for the Supreme Court vacancy,” he wrote. Up until the final announcement January 31, President Donald Trump gave the public appearance that he was still making up his mind between two finalists, even so much as having both candidates drive toward Washington. It was later revealed that runner-up Thomas Hardiman drove a few hours east of his home in Pittsburgh before going back.
The questionnaire, which was made public by the committee Saturday, also contained personal information about Gorsuch. He is a member of two country clubs; Federalist Society; and served with a nonprofit that helped low income students living in public housing complete high school.
While Gorsuch was in private practice, he said he avoided specialization and focused on maintaining a general litigation practice.
In the questionnaire, Gorsuch shared some of his most significant cases over which he presided. The cases include a Native American inmate wanting to exercise his religious liberty in prison and companies wanting to avoid certain requirements of the Affordable Care Act.
Gorsuch shared that none of the opinions he has authored have been overturned. And while he has not held an office in a presidential campaign, he said he volunteered on the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
The judge said most of his time as a lawyer and a judge has been in litigation, but he has donated a significant amount of time on legal matters outside of court.
“During my time as a judge, certain colleagues and I became concerned with the quality of representation death row inmates received in their federal habeas proceedings,” he said.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said Saturday that he looks forward to reviewing the material.
“I appreciate Judge Gorsuch working diligently to return his questionnaire in a timely fashion. He’s gone to great lengths to produce the material requested by the Judiciary Committee,” the Iowa Republican said. “I look forward to reviewing the material and asking him questions when he appears before the committee.”