Knoxville lawyers, law professor react to SCOTUS pick

Feb. 01--Several law professors and attorneys in Knoxville said the selection of federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill Antonin Scalia's Supreme Court seat was unsurprising, as he has the experience and education expected of a Supreme Court justice, and is closely aligned ideologically with conservatives.

Nearly a year after Justice Scalia's death left the Supreme Court shorthanded, President Donald Trump nominated Gorsuch of Colorado to fill the void Tuesday night. Trump unveiled his nominee to the country on live television from the White House.

"Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline and has earned bipartisan support," Trump said.

Gorsuch, 49, sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.

He has defended religious liberties, most recently against the Affordable Care Act's so-called contraception mandate in the Hobby Lobby case. He has not ruled on abortion, but his book opposing assisted suicide reveals his views on the sanctity of life.

"(Gorsuch) is a texturalist, which is something Justice Scalia believed in very much," said Teri Baxter, a professor and associate dean for faculty development at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville's College of Law.

"He believes in reading laws carefully and faithfully and sticking to the text, and he's not a big believer in turning to legislative history or other outside sources for interpreting the law. ... On a lot of issues such as religion and in the way he interprets the law, in the way he interprets the Constitution, he seems to be a lot like Justice Scalia."

Baxter said if Democrats try to block Gorsuch's nomination in response to the Senate's refusal to consider former President Barack Obama's pick Merrick Garland, the rules could be changed to require a simple majority instead of the 60 votes currently required to confirm a nominee.

That "would give the minority party in the Senate little to no say in future nominations," she said.

David Wolitz, an associate professor at the UT College of Law, said it's "no surprise" Gorsuch is more conservative in his judicial philosophy than Merrick Garland would have been, and said Gorsuch has "exactly the conservative profile the Trump administration was looking for."

"I think another interesting axis to think about is, instead of just left and right, is how deferential a judge will be to the executive branch and the executive branch's own interpretation of the law," Wolitz said. "What's interesting about Judge Gorsuch is he is known as someone who is not very deferential to the executive branch. He thinks the judicial branch should ultimately have the final say on what the law is.

"That could come back to haunt President Trump, because Gorsuch may decide that a lot of new regulations or changes to regulations under a Trump administration are not consistent with the underlying statutes."

Knoxville's Chris Irwin, a self-proclaimed "tree-hugger lawyer" of 12 years, said it's "ironic" for a Republican president to appoint an originalist -- a judge who interprets the Constitution's meaning strictly -- after the Senate refused to consider Garland.

"The entire process would horrify Jefferson and the architects of the Constitution. ... (The Republicans) warped it, they twisted it and manipulated it and stretched the fabric of the Constitution so it's almost not recognizable in order to get a judge in who would adhere to a strict interpretation of the Constitution. And they'll pay for it. We'll all pay for it."

Gregory P. Isaacs, a Knoxville criminal defense lawyer of 28 years, praised Trump's selection of Gorsuch as a safe pick to fill Justice Scalia's seat.

"Regardless of your ideological views, it's comforting that Trump chose an individual that was well-qualified based on his prior experience and judicial experience as opposed to a wildcard that would have created a legal firestorm," he said.

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