In his more than 10 years as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch was recused in more than 1,000 cases, according to documents submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee in advance of his March 20 confirmation hearing.
The high overall number of recusals appears to reflect the rigorous recusal procedures of his court, as well as Gorsuch’s stated desire to avoid even the perception of bias when it comes to cases involving a wide range of friends, former clients and colleagues. Only a sliver of the recusals were triggered by financial interests, according to his responses.
