Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch on Monday rejected the common refrain of trying to undermine the Supreme Court’s legitimacy.
As the country becomes more divided over politics, the Supreme Court has become an increasing target of partisan attacks, particularly from those upset that many of its key recent decisions have not supported progressive policies. Critics of conservative rulings have called for numerous court reforms, such as adding more justices or imposing term limits on judges, while conservative justices have faced accusations of ethical misconduct that have yet to materialize in practice.
“In a democracy, you’re in the driver’s seat. You’re the sovereign. The first three famous words of the Constitution give you the power.”
In a new interview, CBS News correspondent Major Garrett asked Gorsuch for his response. To Trendy Stories about Supreme Court: Judges make decisions based on ideology and are not fair.
But according to Gorsuch, The statistics prove it The courts are not the place for ideologues to stubbornly resist.
“I read a book the other day that in ideologically divided cases — I don’t know what that means now — in this last term, I agreed with Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan and Justice Jackson about 45% of the time. That’s the court I know,” Gorsuch said.
And when Garrett pressured Gorsuch, abortion and Affirmative ActionThe judge once again proved why that story is incorrect.
“These are incredibly complex legal questions on which, of course, reasonable people can and will differ,” Gorsuch said. “And Roe v. Wade, For example, what decision did the court make? The court decided that it is not nine people sitting in Washington, D.C., who should answer that question, but we, the people.”
Regarding affirmative action, Gorsuch said, “What have we decided? We have decided that all men are created equal, that discrimination on the basis of race is not acceptable in this country.”
Finally, Gorsuch rejected the argument that the Supreme Court’s decisions are taking away rights from Americans. Instead, he said, the Court is “giving them back to you.”
“In a democracy, you’re in the driver’s seat. You’re the sovereign. The first three famous words of the Constitution give you the power,” he said. “Do you really want me to decide everything for you?
“All I can say is that I know no more about these issues than you do, and that most major Western democracies have decided these issues through the ballot box,” Gorsuch explained.
The “three famous words” Gorsuch referred to, of course, were the opening words of the Preamble to the United States Constitution: “We the People.” Perhaps no other three words have had such a profound impact on Western democracy, and it is significant that a Supreme Court Justice felt the need to remind Americans of the importance of these words.
In a separate interview this week, Gorsuch said He issued a prescient warning “Watch out,” he said of President Joe Biden’s plan to reform the Supreme Court.
Biden’s plan also includes imposing term limits on Supreme Court justices; More partisanUnder the plan, each president would appoint two new justices to four-year terms, rotating the Supreme Court every 18 years.
Such a plan would almost certainly tie Supreme Court appointments to presidential politics in a way that the Founding Fathers would not have wanted.
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