“People are saying I don’t care if he’s a Republican or Democrat, he has a great reputation and that’s what we’re looking for.”
washington» The nomination of Colorado native Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court has mobilized members of the state’s legal and political elite in a way that insiders said has no comparison in recent memory. Through letters, endorsements and support work, the effort surpasses the 2006 campaign to get Gorsuch confirmed to his current seat on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — a fight that included an assist from Philip Anschutz, the billionaire and Colorado powerbroker.
The crown jewel of the latest effort is a seven-page endorsement letter that fills six pages with signatures from more than 200 Colorado legal eagles, from former Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justices Michael Bender and Rebecca Love Kourlis to Jack Finlaw, former chief legal counsel to Gov. John Hickenlooper.
“People are saying I don’t care if he’s a Republican or Democrat, he has a great reputation and that’s what we’re looking for — somebody who can bring the right talents and judgments to the bench,” said Steve Farber, a partner with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and a key figure in bringing the 2008 Democratic National Convention to Denver.
The bipartisan backing extends to politicians as well. Former Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter recently cowrote an op-ed in support of Gorsuch. U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo. — who supports his nomination — has been an advocate around Capitol Hill and plans to introduce him when Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings start Monday.
Behind the scenes, the judge’s support team, dubbed Team Gorsuch, includes Colorado attorney and former Gorsuch clerk Michael Davis. And Jim Lyons, once a choice of President Bill Clinton to join the 10th Circuit, has urged the Judiciary Committee to lend their support.
“Judge Gorsuch’s intellect, energy and deep regard for the Constitution are well known to those of us who have worked with him and have seen firsthand his commitment to basic principles,” Lyons wrote.
The blast of heavy-duty firepower isn’t the first time Gorsuch — a fourthgeneration Coloradan whose mother served in the state legislature — has benefited from top-flight help in the state.
As first reported by The New York Times, Gorsuch did legal work for Anschutz before his appointment to the federal bench.
The connection later would prompt Bruce Black, now general counsel of the Anschutz Corp., to write a letter to the administration of President George W. Bush that urged the appointment of Gorsuch to the 10th Circuit.
“Mr. Anschutz spoke with Senator (Wayne) Allard (of Colorado) about Neil Gorsuch, and Senator Allard suggested that we pass along Mr. Gorsuch’s résumé to you,” Black wrote.
Two days before Black sent the Jan. 12, 2006, letter on behalf of Anschutz, a major Republican donor, it was reported in The Denver Post that the three frontrunners for the post were candidates other than Gorsuch.
Asked about the timing and the process, Allard said Gorsuch and those three candidates were part of larger list of six or seven hopefuls. “Basically, it fell upon me to put forward a name and I selected Neil Gorsuch to nominate,” said Allard, who noted Gorsuch’s academic credentials and support from the legal community.
He said he did not remember speaking with Anschutz and didn’t know Gorsuch did legal work for him. “I don’t recall that conversation, but if they had mentioned it to me I would have told them to send it to whomever (at the White House) was responsible for reviewing that application,” Allard added.
Black was among the 200plus members of Colorado’s legal community who signed the latest letter; the Anschutz Corp. did not respond to a phone call seeking comment.
Gorsuch has other ties to the Anschutz network.
A Gorsuch spokeswoman confirmed he co-owns a Colorado vacation home with Cannon Harvey and Kevin Conwick, two longtime Anschutz associates, and Gorsuch has been an occasional guest at Anschutz’s dove-hunting retreats — a rite of passage for many state politicos.
“I’ve been there like every other elected official in Colorado,” Allard said.
In 2010, Gorsuch spoke at one of those retreats and criticized the current state of civil litigation in the U.S., which he warned could price out the courts for too many people.
“The discovery process associated with civil litigation in our country has become way too expensive and takes way too long,” according to notes Gorsuch prepared for that speech.
Lyons, a Gorsuch supporter, was there and said that “I don’t think there’s a better manifesto for a Supreme Court justice than those seven pages of notes.”
Another attendee of the 2010 retreat was U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. The Colorado Democrat once worked for Anschutz, and both liberals and conservatives have wondered in recent days whether Bennet and Gorsuch knew each other from their time in the Anschutz orbit.
“I honestly don’t remember,” said Bennet when asked when they first met one another. “It may have been when he was coming back to Colorado and working on the Qwest representation, but we didn’t work together on any of that and I just don’t remember the first time we met.”
Bennet will join Gardner on Monday in introducing Gorsuch before the Judiciary Committee, but unlike Gardner he has not said whether he will support his nomination.