BOMBS AWAY | SCHUMER SIGNALS FILIBUSTER | We Talkin’ Terms
March 23, 2017
GORSUCH, OR FILIBUST
|It looks like the Democrats are going nuclear. On Day 4 of JUDGE NEIL GORSUCH’S nomination hearing, SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER says he will lead the opposition, declaring he plans to vote “No” on the Supreme Court nominee. The Senate’s top Democrat said he will lead the filibuster of the nominee and said he hopes he colleagues will join him. Today he said, “If this nominee cannot earn 60 votes — a bar met by each of PRESIDENT OBAMA’S nominees, and GEORGE BUSH’S last two nominees — the answer isn’t to change the Senate rules. It’s to change the nominee.” If Dems filibuster, it’s possible Republicans will vote to change the rules of the Senate and allow Supreme Court picks to be confirmed with a simple majority vote.
WATCH NOW LIVE
|Watch the rest of the fourth and what will likely be the final day of the confirmation hearing in which experts and outside groups share testimony with the Senate Judiciary Committee.
ICYMI
|The New York Times shared highlights from JUDGE NEIL GORSUCH’S performance yesterday during the third day of his hearing.
REPORT CARD
|20 hours later and NEIL GORSUCH is all done with his testimony. Matt Flegenheimer, Adam Liptak, Charlie Savage and Carl Hulse with The New York Times report on how well the nominee did and what we can expect in the days and weeks to come.
A SUPREME SNUB
|JUDGE GORSUCH didn’t get off so easy on certain issues near and dear to the hearts of several liberal committee members. During the hearing’s proceedings, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District — a ruling which unanimously rejected a legal standard once used to rule against an autistic child. Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER noted Wednesday, “The Supreme Court found that disabled students are entitled to substantially greater protections under federal law than Judge Gorsuch previously ruled they were. This is part of a continued, troubling pattern of Judge Gorsuch deciding against everyday Americans — even children who require special assistance at school.”
OH YEAH, BY THE WAY
|The Supreme Court ruled 8-0 to support the petition of a special education student and his family, rejecting the standard for minimal educational progress by disabled students that some lower courts have applied. Learn more about the case and the consequences of its outcome.
WE TALKIN' TERMS
|In The Washington Post, Lori A. Ringhand and Paul M. Collins Jr. consider the pros and cons of having JUDGE GORSUCH and all Supreme Court justices adhere to 18-year term limits.
TODAY AT SCOTUS
|The justices argued today over whether improper actions by law enforcement officers expose them to liability for using excessive force when their actions provoke a violent confrontation. It’s a test case that can determine when people can sue law enforcement officers, and the justices were sharply divided throughout arguments.
ED BOARD OVERTURE
|The Editorial Board at the Los Angeles Times considers whether it is reasonable for a police officer to shoot a man in his own home and opines that the case currently before SCOTUS is “the clearest opportunity to protect the public from expansive police misconduct.”
MUST READ
|“There’s courtroom drama, and then there’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing drama.” John Williams with The New York Times shares five titles of essential reading for anyone interested in the Supreme Court and the hearings that put justices on the bench.
ON THE TUBE
|Last night, SETH MEYERS on his “Late Night” show called the GOP’s obstruction of JUDGE MERRICK GARLAND’S nomination to the Supreme Court “one of the greatest thefts in modern politics.” Meyers pointed to the Gorsuch nomination and noted, “Fundamentally, these hearings are awkward because we’re in the unprecedented situation of a president trying to fill a stolen Supreme Court seat while under the cloud of an FBI investigation. If the shoe were on the other foot, Republicans would stonewall for four years.”