Halil Suleyman Ozerden testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

Republican U.S. Senators grilled one of Trump's appeals court nominees for his past rulings on religious liberty during an hour-long hearing Wednesday.

Halil "Sul" Ozerden of Mississippi, who's up for the lone vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, has drawn criticism from conservatives for allegedly not being conservative enough, and scorn from religious liberty groups who opposed his 2012 dismissal of a case challenging the Affordable Care Act's mandate that employers' insurance include contraceptive coverage.

The nominee, who for 12 years has presided over the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi in Gulfport, fielded critical questions for an hour and a half from both Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. If the committee approves him, Ozerden's nomination would go to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.

Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith, R-Mississippi, said that in Ozerden's 12 years as a judge, he's earned a reputation for being prudent, fair minded and knowledgeable of the law.

"He is imminently well-qualified. He is fair, thoughtful, and will be an outstanding federal court of appeals judge," Hyde Smith said.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, told the committee that after college, Ozerden was a Navy pilot and served combat missions in Iraq and Somalia. He later earned a law degree from Stanford Law School, and worked as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon of the Eastern District of Louisiana. Next, Ozerden was a civil litigator with Dukes, Dukes, Keating & Faneca in Gulfport, Mississippi, where he handled civil rights cases, contract disputes, bankruptcies and more. Former President George W. Bush nominated him to his current bench, where he's served since 2007.

"I'm confident Judge Ozerden's service will benefit the people of the Fifth Circuit and United States for many years to come," Wicker said.

Some of the most critical questions concerned Ozerden's ruling in the contraceptive mandate challenge, Catholic Diocese of Biloxi Inc. v. Sebelius.

"The notion I am somehow hostile to religious liberty is simply not accurate," Ozerden told senators. "My hands were tied: There was binding Fifth Circuit precedent that dictated my outcome in that case."

He explained that the plaintiffs challenged the contraceptive mandate but the federal government had already said it was changing that rule. Ozerden found their claims were not ripe and his court didn't have jurisdiction to hear the dispute, so he dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice. At the time, courts around the country reached the same outcome in 22 similar cases, Ozerden said.

"I followed the law I had to follow," he said, adding that the plaintiffs refiled their challenge after the government instituted a new rule, and in the end, won the relief they sought.

However, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, expressed deep concerns about Ozerden's record. He said the Fifth Circuit needs strong constitutionalists, and Cruz didn't see substantive evidence of that in Ozerden's record. Cruz expressed specific qualms with Ozerden's ruling in the Catholic Diocese case, saying Ozerden denied the plaintiff a hearing and issued a "cursory opinion" that didn't include a detailed discussion about all of the plaintiff's arguments nor cite precedent.

"That concerns me greatly," said Cruz, who added that conservative groups like the First Liberty Institute, a Texas-based nonprofit religious liberty firm, have stated that Ozerden is not a conservative.

But Ozerden said in Catholic Diocese, the facts were undisputed, the law was clear, and he ruled the claim wasn't ripe based on binding precedent.

"Look at my record as a whole: you will see I am committed to principles of textualism and following the laws and the constitution," said Ozerden, adding he's issued 1,400 rulings.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said that a court's reliance on statutory analysis and the plain text of a statute is not an ideological left versus right debate—it's just judging.

"Describe your approach to reading statues," he asked Ozerden. "How much weight do you give to the plain meaning of the text?"

Ozerden replied that he always starts with the plain meaning of a statute, and his analysis ends there if the meaning is clear and unambiguous. Otherwise, he decides cases after turning to the tools of statutory construction and existing judicial precedent.

Although the bulk of the hearing focused on religious liberty discussions, senators also queried Ozerden on his rulings in racial discrimination, sexual harassment and Second Amendment cases, and his views on abortion restrictions.

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said she had reviewed some of Ozerden's rulings and suggested that criticism from at least three conservative groups seemed unfounded.

"You seem pretty conservative," she said.