In Gorsuch hearings, questions of religious liberty and the law

WASHINGTON—Of all the people to speak on the first day of what promises to be a grueling week of hearings, Judge Neil Gorsuch – the man whose confirmation to the US Supreme Court is being deliberated – was notably concise.

After thanking his family, his law clerks, and his mentors, he grew emotional talking about his late Uncle Jack, an Episcopal priest, and his childhood in Colorado.

“In my childhood it was God and Byron White,” he said, referencing the former Supreme Court justice whom he clerked for. “A product of the West, [Justice White] modeled for me judicial courage.”

Indeed, “God and Byron White” could be a succinct description for the lines of inquiry Republicans and Democrats can be expected to take when the Senate Judiciary Committee begins questioning Judge Gorsuch Tuesday. As the minority, Democrats can’t boycott him the way Senate Republicans did with Judge Merrick Garland, nominated by former President Obama. Instead they have tasked themselves with probing for weak spots in a nominee who for many legal observers has a close-to-spotless paper trail.

One line of inquiry that Democrats seem intent on pursuing concerns Gorsuch’s reputation as a staunch defender of religious liberty…

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