Gorsuch nomination hearings start on March 20

Senate Judiciary chair Chuck Grassley has announced that Supreme Court nomination hearings in the Senate for Neil Gorsuch will start on Monday, March 20 and last three or four days.

In a statement released today, Grassley said opening statements by Judiciary Committee members and the nominee will be made on the first day. Committee questioning of Gorsuch will begin on Tuesday, March 21. Testimony by outside legal experts, including the American Bar Association, will follow.

“Judge Gorsuch has met every demand placed on him by the Minority.  He’s a mainstream judge.  He’s displayed independence.  He’s met with dozens of senators who have nothing but positive things to say.  He is well-qualified and respected.  He worked diligently to return the bipartisan questionnaire.  It’s time for him to have the opportunity to speak for himself before the Judiciary Committee,” Grassley said.

The timeline is similar to schedules used for Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan by former chairman Patrick Leahy.  But the mid-March start date would make it unlikely that Gorsuch would be confirmed in time to hear arguments on the bench for the current Court term. Arguments end in late April and Justices can only vote of argued cases that they have heard. The Court’s term ends in late June.

President Donald Trump introduced Gorsuch on January 31 as his nominee to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. The conservative jurist is a federal appeals judge based in Colorado.

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