More than 200 prominent lawyers from Colorado have written a letter to the state’s senators, Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet, urging them to support Judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court.
Despite holding diverse political beliefs, and acknowledging that many of them have been critical of Donald Trump’s actions as president thus far, the lawyers “all agree that Judge Gorsuch is exceptionally well- qualified to join the Supreme Court.”
Trump’s nominee for the vacant seat, they argue, deserves an up or down vote.
The lawyers speak highly of Gorsuch’s character as a person and a judge, as well as his competency as a jurist.
“His record shows that he believes strongly in the independence of the judiciary,” the lawyers write. “He voted with the majority in 98% of the cases he heard on the Tenth Circuit, a great portion of which were joined by judges appointed by Democratic Presidents. Seven of his opinions have been affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court—four unanimously—and none has been reversed.”
The lawyers urge the state’s senators to put politics aside when it comes to Gorsuch.
“Regardless of the politics involved in prior confirmation efforts, including what many consider to be the mistreatment of Judge Garland’s nomination, a filibuster now will do Colorado no good,” they state.
The senators should vote against a filibuster, and for the judge’s confirmation, they argue.
“Judge Gorsuch deserves a fair shake in the confirmation process.”
As the Denver Post notes, all eyes will be on how the state’s senators will vote—particularly on Bennet, a Democrat. Given their familiarity with the state’s judges, other senators will look to them for advice.
“So Bennet’s vote will have outsized influence on the Gorsuch confirmation,” writes the Post. “Will we get a highly qualified Coloradan on the Supreme Court? Will our Democratic senator embrace the hateful, obstructionist branch of his party, or the practical, get-things-done-when-possible branch?”
Hopefully the latter.