Gorsuch said the 13-year-old student from Albuquerque, New Mexico, should have been able to sue the arresting officer for excessive force. "What happens to individual freedom and equality when the criminal law comes to cover so many facets of daily life that prosecutors can almost choose their targets with impunity?" Liberal groups are opposing Gorsuch's nomination, in part based on views that his overall record on criminal justice is too harsh. Paul Rothstein, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, said Gorsuch appears to have a mixed record in criminal cases and "seems to call them as he sees them." But Gorsuch said the man's right to effective representation was not violated because he was later convicted in a fair trial.

Source: ABC News March 11, 2017 14:03 UTC