Judge Gorsuch’s Record Of Consensus Building

JUDGE GORSUCH: ‘In The West, We Listened To One Another Respectfully. We Tolerate -- We Cherish Different Points Of View. And We Seek Consensus Whenever We Can.’

JUDGE GORSUCH: “I have decided… over 2,700 cases, and my law clerks tell me that 97 percent of them have been unanimous, 99 percent I've been in the majority. They tell me as well that according to the Congressional Research Service, my opinions have attracted the fewest number of dissents from my colleagues of anyone I've served with that they studied over the last 10 years.” (U.S. Senate, Judiciary Committee, Hearing, 3/21/17)

• CRS: “Percentage of Majority Opinions Accompanied by a Separate Opinion / Author of the Majority Opinion: Neil M. Gorsuch (2006-present): 3.3%” (“Judge Neil M. Gorsuch: His Jurisprudence And Potential Impact On The Supreme Court,” Congressional Research Service, P.15, 3/8/2017)

• CRS: “Dissent Rate / Judge Neil M. Gorsuch (2006-present): 1.6%” (“Judge Neil M. Gorsuch: His Jurisprudence And Potential Impact On The Supreme Court,” Congressional Research Service, P.16, 3/8/2017)

• CRS: “Dissents and Concurrences from Majority Opinions on the Tenth Circuit – Number of Majority Opinions Accompanied by a Dissent / Neil M. Gorsuch: 12; Mary Beck Briscoe: 29; Harris L. Hartz: 18; Jerome A. Holmes: 13; Paul Joseph Kelly, Jr.: 40; Carlos F. Lucero: 21; Timothy M. Tymokovich: 19.” (“Judge Neil M. Gorsuch: His Jurisprudence And Potential Impact On The Supreme Court,” Congressional Research Service, P.15, 3/8/2017)

JUDGE NEIL GORSUCH: “Over the last decade, I've participated in over 2,700 appeals. Often these cases are hard... I've served with judges appointed by President Obama all the way back to President Johnson. And in the Tenth Circuit, we hear cases from six different states covering two time zones and 20 percent of the continental United States. But in the West, we listened to one another respectfully. We tolerate -- we cherish different points of view. And we seek consensus whenever we can. My law clerks tell me that 97 percent of those 2,700 cases I've decided were decided unanimously and that I have been in the majority 99 percent of the time. That's my record, and that's how we do things in the West.” (U.S. Senate, Judiciary Committee, Hearing, 3/20/17)

• CRS: “Of the approximately 180 published majority opinions authored by the nominee, only one has been reviewed in a formal opinion by the Supreme Court, wherein the Court ultimately affirmed the Tenth Circuit decision by a 5-4 vote. Five additional opinions that Judge Gorsuch joined have been the subject of a formal opinion by the Supreme Court. Of these five opinions, four were affirmed by the High Court. One opinion that Judge Gorsuch joined, Direct Marketing Ass’n v. Brohl, was reversed by the Court in a substantive opinion. As a result, Judge Gorsuch has an arguably high affirmance rate given that the Supreme Court in recent years has reversed the lower courts in roughly seventy percent of all cases it heard.” (“Judge Neil M. Gorsuch: His Jurisprudence And Potential Impact On The Supreme Court,” Congressional Research Service, P.20, 3/8/2017)