In a revealing interview, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch shared insights into his approach to navigating the pressures of public opinion while serving on the nation’s highest court. Speaking with Fox News host Shannon Bream, Gorsuch outlined two fundamental rules he imparts to his law clerks, designed to guide them through the complexities of their roles.
Bream inquired about the influence of public perception on Gorsuch’s judicial decision-making. His response centered on the principles he instills in his clerks:
“I tell my law clerks I have two rules — only two rules — if you follow them, you’re going to be just fine,” he stated. “Rule number one: Don’t make it up — follow the law. Rule number two: when everybody else around you is yelling at you, asking you to make it up and condemning you for not making it up, refer to rule number one.”
Gorsuch, known for his originalist judicial philosophy, believes that Constitutional rights are limited to those explicitly outlined during the nation’s founding. Any additions or alterations to these rights, he argues, should be enacted through the consent of the American people, as reported by Fox News.
“Originalism says the rights of the Constitution that were given in 1789 are the rights you enjoy today and they can never be taken — and if you want to add to them, we the people add to them,” Gorsuch explained to Bream. “I think the Constitution is one of the greatest documents in all of human history and deserves our respect.”
Despite facing opposition from left-leaning advocates who argue that the founders could not have foreseen modern circumstances that might necessitate reinterpreting the Constitution, Gorsuch remains steadfast in his convictions. He dismissed this argument as “baloney.”
“I think the Constitution is one of the greatest documents in all of human history and deserves our respect — and if you want to change it, don’t ask five people in Washington to change it for you,” he asserted, alluding to the narrow majority required for Supreme Court decisions. “There’s a process — it’s called the amendment process. It’s actually there in the Constitution and you can do it — and it has been done. It’s been done 27 times.”
The full video can be viewed at foxnews.com.
Gorsuch’s confirmation to the Supreme Court was particularly contentious, as he filled the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a prominent originalist, shortly before the 2016 election. Jurisdiction: A Cop and a Pastor Talk About Life
Gorsuch, who shared a close relationship with Scalia, credited the late justice with inspiring his adherence to originalism. “In law school, I never heard the word originalism from a professor,” he recounted. “And then I remember Justice Scalia coming to speak — I was a student at [Harvard] law school — and he talked about originalism in the Constitution and it really had a profound effect on me.”