Supreme Court in Rare Position With Death Penalty Case

Justice Neil Gorsuch has recused himself from a case before the Supreme Court involving Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear Glossip’s appeal on Monday, but Gorsuch, who was involved in the case at an earlier stage during his time as an appeals court judge, will not take part in the proceedings, meaning only eight of the nine justices on the bench will decide his fate.

Gorsuch had already recused himself in May, when the high court was weighing whether or not to take up the case. The Supreme Court put Glossip’s execution on hold last year after Oklahoma’s attorney general agreed the inmate’s life should be spared.

Recusals among justices are rare. A 2023 Bloomberg Law analysis found that since 2018, justices had recused themselves in roughly 3 percent of appeals.

Although Justice Samuel Alito led in overall recusals on the bench, the analysis shows that Gorsuch is more likely to recuse himself than most of his colleagues, having done so in 15 percent of cases in the 2021 term and 11 percent of cases in the 2022 term.

Justices John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas only recused themselves in less than 10 percent of cases during those terms.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.