Neil Gorsuch: SCOTUS's Newest and One of It's Most Controversial Justices

As I wrote about a month ago, the nomination and confirmation of Neil Gorsuch came at a time when the United States, following one of our nation's closest presidential elections, was more divided than ever. In fact, it was the very appointment and the blockade against the confirmation of President Obama's choice, Judge Merrick Garland, that gave way for Gorsuch to even make an appearance on the national stage, let alone become the next associate justice on the Supreme Court.

Born on August 29, 1967, Neil McGill Gorsuch was born into a family of two lawyers, and he himself began to develop a passion for the law. After heading to Columbia University, he became its campuses foremost conservative voices as a writer for the Columbia Day Spectator and was, coincidentally, one of President Barack Obama's classmates at Harvard Law School, graduating in 1991.

What sets Gorsuch apart, besides his clerkship at the Supreme Court for justices Kennedy and White, is his doctorate which he received in philosophy from Oxford University. Following that degree, he was appointed to the Tenth Circuit of the US Court of Appeals in Denver. He then began to slowly craft his fundamentalist views on the Constitution and the law, being a fervent supporter of religious freedoms and the Second Amendment.

When Gorsuch was nominated to the Supreme Court on January 31st, 2017, he was filling the vacancy  of one of the strongest fundamentalists in the history of the court: Justice Antonin Scalia. Through one of the more grueling set of Senate confirmation hearings, Gorsuch was eventually appointed to the court on April 7th, 2017.

In a very literal sense, Gorsuch remains a very stringent conservative. He is strongly in favor of states rights over federal rights. Furthermore, his beliefs in supporting religious freedoms have actually led to him supporting some of the more unpopular religious opinions in America. Even though his confirmation may have been highly contested, much of his conservative beliefs remain strong parts of the Republican party today, and he will continue to establish a precedent prioritizing the rights of the people and the will of the people over extending the power of the federal government.


Sources:
https://www.oyez.org/justices/neil_gorsuch
http://time.com/4961416/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-term-controversy/
https://www.biography.com/people/neil-gorsuch-020617