Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch scolded President Biden over his recent efforts to reform the Supreme Court.
“I would just say be careful,” Gorsuch warned in an interview that aired on “Fox News Sunday.”
Last Monday, the 81-year-old Biden unveiled a difficult-to-implement Supreme Court reform plan that was quickly endorsed by Vice President Kamala Harris.
The bill includes provisions limiting Supreme Court justices to 18 years in office, a binding code of ethics for judges and a constitutional amendment that would effectively overturn the ruling that the president enjoys absolute immunity for acts of official conduct.
Up until that point, Biden had largely resisted calls from progressive allies for sweeping reform of the Supreme Court.
“You won’t be surprised that in a presidential election year, I wouldn’t go into what is now a politicized issue. I don’t think that would be helpful,” Gorsuch initially said when asked about Biden’s proposal.
But Gorsuch, the first of three justices nominated by President Trump to the Supreme Court, stressed the importance of judicial independence.
“Judicial independence… what does that mean to you as an American?” Gorsuch mused. “It means you can get a fair hearing even when it’s unpopular.”
“If you’re in the majority, you don’t need a judge or a jury to hear you and protect your rights. If you’re popular,” Gorsuch continued, “that’s for the moment when the spotlight is on you, the moment when the government comes after you. Wouldn’t you want a fiercely independent judge and a jury of your own rank to make those decisions?”
The 56-year-old judge declined to go into the details of Biden’s proposal.
Democrats have long been troubled by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority.
Trump was able to appoint the three justices in part because of Senate Republicans’ refusal to consider former President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland and the sudden death of former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020.
Since then, the Supreme Court has handed the left a series of high-profile defeats, including overturning the controversial Roe v. Wade decision, striking down gun control laws, dealing a blow to the power of the administrative state and upholding President Trump’s push for immunity.
Biden established a commission to study the Supreme Court controversy in 2021, but its report ultimately did not lead to any major reforms.
Some Democrats are actively considering expanding the Supreme Court, and many are calling for stronger ethics rules in the wake of revelations that Justice Clarence Thomas benefited from Republican megadonor Harlan Crow and other controversies surrounding other justices.
Last November, the Supreme Court adopted its first ethics code amid mounting pressure, but critics on the left are not satisfied and are urging Congress to take the lead.
In July 2023, Judge Samuel Alito told the Wall Street Journal: In his opinion, “the Constitution [Congress] the power to regulate the Supreme Court.”
Some liberal justices, like Elena Kagan, Publicly shown They would be open to an ethics code with stronger enforcement mechanisms.
Recent An interview with a New York Times columnist Gorsuch declined to say whether he would support it.
Gorsuch was in an interview with Fox News on Sunday to promote his new book, due for release on Tuesday, “Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law,” which he co-authored with one of his former law clerks.
“I’ve been a judge for 18 years, and I’ve seen case after case where ordinary Americans who are just trying to live their lives, not hurt anyone, and provide for their families, are unexpectedly hit by the law,” Gorsuch explained.
“At the same time, we need laws to protect our freedom and safety,” the judge emphasized.
“On the other hand, too many laws undermine those same aspirations for freedom and equality, because who can cope in a world with so many laws?” Gorsuch added.
