Emory School of Law experts are available to comment on the background and upcoming confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
Visiting Professor
Emory University School of Law
On Gorsuch’s qualifications:
“Judge Gorsuch is, to be sure, very conservative. But the important point, in my view, is that he does not approach the job with an agenda. He writes opinions characterized by clarity, opinions in which law and logic take front stage. Further, he is highly qualified and capable.”
On Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings:
“In my view, in a game of escalating tit-for-tat with respect to the federal judiciary, the ultimate losers are the American people and the rule of law, since it erodes the integrity of the only remaining branch of government in which Americans still have faith.”
Contact: Elaine Justice elaine.justice@emory.edu, 404-727-0643 w, 404-276-8263 c
Fred Smith: fredosmithjr@gmail.com
Associate Professor
Emory University School of Law
“I’m unexpectedly pleased that—of the three judges who were apparently on Trump’s short list—Judge Gorsuch is probably the best on civil liberties issues.” Since the election, Volokh has been a board member of 11/9 Coalition, a non-partisan grassroots organization working for the protection of civil liberties and the rule of law. The Coalition has created summaries of the civil liberties records of potential Supreme Court nominees, including Gorsuch.
Volokh’s interests include law and economics, administrative law and the regulatory process, antitrust, privatization and legal history. He clerked for Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit and for Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Samuel Alito.
Contact: Elaine Justice elaine.justice@emory.edu, 404-727-0643 w, 404-276-8263 c
Alexander Volokh: svolokh@gmail.com, 404.712.5225