--- title: Neil Gorsuch Confirmation: Supreme Court Rules Against Him description: One of Neil Gorsuch's decisions about an autistic child's education was struck down unanimously by the Supreme Court Wednesday. canonical: https://time.com/4709234/neil-gorsuch-confirmation-hearing-supreme-court-decision/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-22T16:16:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T08:21:42.267Z article:section: Politics og:title: The Supreme Court Struck Down One of Neil Gorsuch's Decisions During His Hearing og:description: He learned about it on a bathroom break. og:url: https://time.com/4709234/neil-gorsuch-confirmation-hearing-supreme-court-decision/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27cebc54eecd9e10/6988bf57196cf4705a03f545/gettyimages-656106460.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Senate Holds Confirmation Hearing For Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Supreme Court Struck Down One of Neil Gorsuch's Decisions During His Hearing twitter:description: He learned about it on a bathroom break. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27cebc54eecd9e10/6988bf57196cf4705a03f545/gettyimages-656106460.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Supreme Court Struck Down One of Neil Gorsuch's Decisions During His Hearing > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=4656f618-ded6-41fa-ab8c-99e7d7085435&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Supreme Court Struck Down One of Neil Gorsuch's Decisions During His Hearing [Watch (HLS stream): The Supreme Court Struck Down One of Neil Gorsuch's Decisions During His Hearing](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4a2TfhC1.m3u8) (1:20)  _Published 2017-03-22. One of Neil Gorsuch's decisions about an autistic child's education was struck down unanimously by the Supreme Court Wednesday morning during his confirmation hearing_  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Mar 22, 2017 4:16 PM UTC One of Neil Gorsuch's decisions about an autistic child's education was struck down unanimously by the Supreme Court Wednesday morning during his confirmation hearing  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Mar 22, 2017 4:16 PM UTC One of [Neil Gorsuch’s](http://time.com/4709028/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-confirmation-hearing-questions/) decisions about an autistic child’s education was struck down unanimously by the Supreme Court Wednesday morning during his [confirmation hearing](http://time.com/4708107/neil-gorsuch-confirmation-hearing-day-two/). The 8-0 ruling, which Gorsuch said he learned about on a brief five-minute bathroom break, overturned his 2008 decision in [_Thompson R2-J School District v. Luke P._](https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/07/07-1304.pdf), which found that a school district legally abides with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as long as it provides an education that “must merely be ‘more than _de minimis_.’” The Supreme Court disagreed in their decision handed down Wednesday. “When all is said and done, a student offered an educational program providing ‘merely more than _de minimis_‘ progress from year to year can hardly be said to have been offered an education at all,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the [unanimous decision](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-827%5F0pm1.pdf). “For children with disabilities, receiving instruction that aims so low would be tantamount to “sitting idly … awaiting the time when they were old enough to ‘drop out.’” During his hearing, Gorsuch said his decision was emotionally difficult but that his hands were tied by precedent in an earlier narrow reading of IDEA. “We were bound by circuit precedent, a case called [_Urban v Jefferson County School District_](http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-10th-circuit/1278336.html) \[from\] 1996, which said the appropriate standard was _de minimis,”_ Gorsuch told Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin. “That’s the law of my circuit, Senator. And I’ve been asked an awful lot about whether I abide by precedent and whether I always like the results I reach. Here’s a case for you… If anyone is suggesting that I like a result where an autistic child happens to lose, it’s a heartbreaking accusation. Heartbreaking.” In a further heated exchange when Durbin continued to press Gorsuch on his legal reasoning in _Luke P._, Gorsuch fired back, “To suggest that I have some animus against children, Senator, would be a mistake.” “Judge, please. I am not suggesting that,” Durbin responded. Gorsuch acknowledged that the Supreme Court’s new holding means his 10th Circuit ruling, which he pointed out was unanimous, is wrong. “I understand today that the Supreme Court has indicated that the _Urban_ standard is incorrect. That’s fine, I will follow the law. … If I was wrong, Senator, I was wrong because I was bound by circuit precedent, and I’m sorry.” “The Supreme Court is our boss and we respect their last word,” Gorsuch said. ## Transcript [00:00] Lupe, was a unanimous decision by my court. There was [00:00] no dispute, in my [00:07] court, about the applicable law. And there wasn't, because [00:10] we were bound by circuit precedent. A case called Urban [00:14] versus Jefferson County. 1996 that [00:19] said the appropriate standard was de minimis. The [00:22] educational standard had to be more than de minimis. [00:25] That's the law of my circuit, Senator. And I've been asked [00:29] an awful lot about whether I abide precedent. And [00:34] whether I always like The results I reach. If anyone is [00:38] suggesting that I like a result where an autistic child [00:42] happens to lose, it's a heartbreaking accusation to me, [00:46] heartbreaking. I understand today that the Supreme Court [00:49] has indicated that the urban standard is incorrect. [00:51] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [00:54] That's fine. I will follow the law. I was wrong senator. [00:58] I was wrong because I was bound by [ UNKNOWN ] [00:59] President. I'm sorry. And Supreme Court is our boss, we [01:03] respect their last word. I suggest that I have some. Animus [01:09] against children Senator would be mistaken. [01:14] Judge please, I'm not suggesting [01:19] that. Glad to hear it. 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