After the trial and appeals courts sided with the state, the Supreme Court decided in January 2016 - shortly before Justice Antonin Scalia died - to hear the case. They were typical of the court's diet of complex issues of federal law - the timing of shareholder class action lawsuits, the appropriate judicial forum for federal worker complaints, and the rules for joining a lawsuit filed by someone else.
Gorsuch waited only about seven minutes before he asked his first question, following four of his more senior colleagues.
During his first week as a Supreme Court Judge, Justice Neil Gorsuch will hear a religious liberty case from Missouri.
"Wouldn't it be a lot easier if we just followed the plain text of the statute?" asked Gorsuch, who has been described by supporters and opponents as a "textualist" who believes courts should carefully follow the wordings of the laws under review. Citing a section of the Civil Service Reform Act, he asked Landau where in the statute does it say federal district courts may hear cases involving both discrimination and civil service claims.
The justices sit by order of seniority, with the two longest-serving members of the court flanking the chief justice. But the newest justice was not shy.
Chief Justice John Roberts welcomed Gorsuch to the court before oral arguments began, wishing him "a long and happy career" in the lifetime job.
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Cleveland shot just 14 of 27 from the foul line. "We got it out of his hands and made someone else (try to) beat us". The San Antonio Spurs thrashed the Memphis Grizzlies 111-82, with Kawhi Leonard leading the way with 32 points.
All eyes will be trained on the court's most recent addition, the 49-year-old Gorsuch, to see how he interacts with his new colleagues and to try to glean clues about his jurisprudence.
When the gavel sounded at 10 a.m, the nine justices appeared from behind the red curtain, and Gorsuch took his place at the right end seated next to Sotomayor. SCOTUS Blog explained that the MSPB has claimed that it does not have "the authority to rule on an employee's claim because the employer can not appeal the allegedly wrongful action, but the employee also alleges that she has been the victim of discrimination - a so-called "mixed case'".
Alito added; "The one thing about this case that seems perfectly clear to me is that nobody who is not a lawyer, and no ordinary lawyer, could read these statutes and figure out what they are supposed to do". "Somebody who takes pleasure out of pulling the wings off flies?"
If the justices agree, "the decision could have implications far beyond scrap tires and playgrounds", said Michael Bindas of the Institute for Justice, which is backing the church. Neal Katyal, who served as acting solicitor general in Democratic former President Barack Obama's Justice Department, heartily endorsed Gorsuch's nomination, even testifying at his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.
Gorsuch sparred with a lawyer for a developer hoping to build on the land but did not directly engage with Katyal. All previously clerked for Gorsuch at the appeals court level and two also clerked for other Supreme Court justices, according to a report on the blog abovethelaw.com. Katyal also introduced Gorsuch at his confirmation hearing just a week before this morning's argument.
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