Colorado Justice Neil Gorsuch’s first day on the Supreme Court is today

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Later today, Justice Neil Gorsuch will sit for the first time on the nation’s highest court. The newly confirmed, and sworn in, associate justice could also recuse himself for the first time today.

Three cases will be before the court.

-Town of Chester, New York v. Laroe Estates

-Perry v. Merit Systems Protection Board

-California Public Employees’ Retirement System v. ANZ Securities, Inc.

Town of Chester, New York v Laroe Estates is the case which could lead to the Colorado justice standing and walking out of the courtroom.

The case itself isn’t the problem for Justice Gorsuch. The recusal hinges on the presence of Neal Katyal on the legal team for the town of Chester. Katyal formerly worked with the Obama administration as acting solicitor general, and wrote a New York Times op-ed entitled “Why Liberals Should back Neil Gorsuch.” Gorsuch is publicly quoted as referring to Katyal as “my friend.”

The Supreme Court doesn’t have any formal rules regarding recusal. The procedure for any justice to recuse themselves is to simply stand and leave the court.

Perry v Merit Systems Protection Board is asking the high court to rule on whether a case which involves both local and federal claims must be heard in the U.S. Court of Appeals or if those cases can be heard in a lower district court on appeal.

California Public Employees’ Retirement System v. ANZ Securities, Inc hopes to set precedent regarding the timeliness of an individual filing a lawsuit in a case which has already been litigated as a class action suit.

All eyes will be on Gorsuch to see what he will do. In his time on the Tenth Circuit Court, Gorsuch, then a judge, recused himself more than 1,000 times.