Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch issued a stark warning when discussing President Biden’s recent Supreme Court reform proposals: “Be careful.”
Biden’s three-pronged proposal, unveiled last week, includes 18-year term limits for justices, a new enforceable code of ethics, and a constitutional amendment aimed at overturning the Supreme Court’s recent decision on presidential immunity.
The announcement marked a major shift for the president, who had long resisted calls from the left for reform, a topic of contention within political circles. Republicans quickly dismissed the proposal, declaring it dead on arrival and labeling it as an attempt to dismantle the conservative-majority court.
During an interview with Fox News’ Shannon Bream, Gorsuch was asked about how the court feels about Biden’s proposed changes, including term limits and ethics reforms. Gorsuch’s response was cautious, suggesting that discussing these proposals in the current political climate might not be constructive.
“You’re not going to be surprised that I’m not going to get into what is now a political issue during a presidential election year. I don’t think that would be helpful,” Gorsuch said. He then elaborated on the significance of an independent judiciary.
“I have one thought to add,” he said. “It is that the independent judiciary means. What does it mean to you as an American? It means that when you’re unpopular, you can get a fair hearing under the law and under the Constitution. If you’re in the majority, you don’t need judges and juries to hear you and protect your rights. You’re popular. It’s there for the moments when, when the spotlights on you, when the government’s coming after you, and don’t you want a ferociously independent judge and a jury of your peers to make those decisions? Isn’t that you’re right as an American. And so I just say, be careful. ”
Gorsuch’s comments come just days before the release of his new book, Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law, which he co-authored with a former clerk. The Justice is scheduled to promote the book with appearances at the Nixon and Reagan presidential libraries later this week.
In his conversation with Bream, Gorsuch reflected on the balance between necessary laws and excessive legalism.
“On the one hand, we need laws to keep us free and safe,” he noted. “On the other hand, if you have too many laws, you impair those same freedoms and our aspirations for equality, too, because who can deal with a world with so much law?”
Watch the clip below from Fox News:
Justice Neil Gorsuch on proposed reforms for the Supreme Court:
“I just say, be careful.”
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) August 4, 2024
