The Supreme Court may have erected a hurdle Wednesday to Judge Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation after justices handed down an 8-0 ruling that rejected the kind of framework Judge Gorsuch used to decide an education disabilities case.
The justices, in their new ruling, said public schools may have to pay disabled students’ costs for private education if the public system is inadequate for the needs of the child.
That contradicts the finding in a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals case Judge Gorsuch was a part of, where he and his colleagues found differently.
Though the case before the Supreme Court stemmed from a different circuit, Democrats said it amounted to a rejection of his legal reasoning. They said that dented his claim that he’s only been overturned, at most, once.
Judge Gorsuch said he had no choice in his decision, saying his circuit court had previously ruled on the matter and he was bound by that.
“I was wrong, senator, because I was bound by circuit precedent, and I’m sorry,” he said.
Eight other courts used the same standard Judge Gorsuch did.
“Anyone who is suggesting that I like a result where an autistic child happens to lose — it’s a heartbreaking accusation,” said Judge Gorsuch.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who quizzed the judge on the ruling, said she doesn’t believe the 10th circuit had issued a binding decision that Judge Gorsuch had to follow.
The judge, though, told her he saw the previous ruling as precedent, and said his decision wasn’t out of the mainstream.
“I’ve written cases for families in IDEA cases. … I’ve written decisions against families in these cases. In each case, it’s been based on my assessment on the facts and the law,” Judge Gorsuch said.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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