Confirmation by fire: some thoughts on Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch's contentious confirmation process.

• Author: Soronen, Lisa
• Position: OPINION - Essay

Will the charged environment in which Justice Neil Gorsuch was confirmed shape his votes on cases affecting the states?

Justice Neil Gorsuch's confirmation process to replace the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court was one of the most politically contentious in recent memory.

It is difficult for those of us who treasure our democracy, and our legal system in particular, to accept that Supreme Court justices, not to mention regular everyday judges, are chosen more for political reasons than for their ability to dole out the law evenly, intelligently and objectively--with justice resulting in the end.

Beneath the thin veneer of choosing someone with stellar academic credentials who has had an impressive legal career, politics always plays a role when it comes to selecting Supreme Court justices, but maybe never so large a role as it did in the selection of Gorsuch.

From Senate Republicans vowing not to hold confirmation hearings no matter who then-President Barack Obama nominated, to Obama baiting them by nominating Merrick Garland, a very qualified, moderate, white 64-year-old male--normally an acceptable candidate for Republicans--to Democrats playing the filibuster card, to Republicans following through on their threat to deploy the "nuclear option," the process was full of party-line stances.

Candidate Donald Trump, after seeking input from two conservative organizations--the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation--came up with a list of 21 potential nominees. All but one of them were current judges with long track records, to avoid what some call "another Justice Souter," who was thought to be a conservative when nominated in 1990, but who more often joined the liberal justices in deciding cases.

Gorsuch was confirmed only after Republicans lowered the number of votes needed for Supreme Court nominees to advance, from 60 to a simple majority. Dubbed the "nuclear option," the new threshold makes it easier for nominees to be confirmed without wide bipartisan support.

Will the fact that Gorsuch was confirmed in such a politically charged environment affect how he views the institution or his role in upholding its Integrity? Will it influence how he votes on the court?

No matter how he votes or what he writes, it will be impossible to know his motivations. When it comes to cases affecting states and local governments, his votes may have more to do with how he feels about federalism, agency deference...