BREAKING: Judge Neil Gorsuch Is Donald Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee

Gorsuch Ruled Against Women’s Rights in Support of Religion in Hobby Lobby

In an event that could rival “The Apprentice,” President Donald Trump has just announced his choice to become the next U.S. Supreme Court justice. As many court-watchers believed, Trump has chosen 10th Circuit Court Judge Neil Gorsuch of Colorado. At 49-years old, if confirmed, Gorsuch will be able to impact generations for decades.

Judge Gorsuch, a graduate of Columbia, Harvard and Oxford, ruled for religion over women in the Hobby Lobby case, which later made its way to the Supreme Court.

“It is not for secular courts to rewrite the religious complaint of a faithful adherent, or to decide whether a religious teaching about complicity imposes ‘too much’ moral disapproval on those only ‘indirectly’ assisting wrongful conduct,” Gorsuch wrote in his concurring opinion.

Gorsuch, like the justice he has been chosen to replace, Antonin Scalia, is a “textualist.” He does not believe the Constitution is a living document, but that it should be read and applied exactly as written, with no interpretation, to cases brought before the Court. He was nominated to the federal bench by President George W. Bush.

“Word on the street,” David Lat at Above The Law wrote in 2015, “is that Judge Gorsuch has his law clerks add contractions to his opinions, to make himself sound more folksy — and therefore more appealing as a possible SCOTUS nominee.”

It’s not known how Gorsuch would rule in cases involving LGBT civil rights, including transgender rights, but given his vetting by the Heritage Foundation and support from conservatives, liberals should probably not get their hopes up.

UPDATE I:
Look at this graphic from Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight that shows just how far right Gorsuch is:

UPDATE II:
Washington Blade’s Chris Johnson tweets Lambda Legal’s statement opposing Gorsuch:

 

This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change. This story will be updated, and NCRM will likely publish follow-up stories on this news. Stay tuned and refresh for updates.