Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch responded to President Biden’s proposals to overhaul the Supreme Court with a brief warning in an interview Monday, calling it potentially “dangerous.”
Gorsuch sat down with “America Reports” host Sandra Smith in a wide-ranging interview following the release of his new book, “Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law.” Asked about Biden’s suggestions for changes to the Supreme Court, Gorsuch stopped short of commenting, telling Smith, “You’re not going to be surprised thatin a presidential election yearI am not going to get intopolitics.”
Smith pressed the justice, however, about concern that Biden’s proposed reforms could be in violation of the separation of powers.
Video“I think that is a questionall Americans have to ask,” Gorsuch replied.
“Too little law, that is a dangerto our freedoms and our aspirations for equaltreatment of all persons.Too much law, maybe that is adanger, too,”he added.
The Trump appointee went on to quote James Madison, who warned about the consequences of having too many laws in the U.S.
“The thing to fear mostis too much law in a democracyand what happens when laws become too voluminous to beunderstood by ordinaryAmericans.He [Madison] said, the money and theconnected can find their way.They can figure it out betterthan anyone else.And everyone else, ordinary people, will be put at a disadvantage,” Gorsuch told Smith.
“And that’s the question we have toask yourselves today,” he continued. “About the separation of powers when itcomes to federalism vertically, in our separation of powers and also horizontally in terms of howmuch we do through ourlegislative branch versus howmuch we leave to unelectedofficials.”
Smith also asked the justice about diminishing trust in the Supreme Court, pointing to polling that suggests a majority of Americans support some level of reforms to the judicial branch.
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch (L) and Supreme Justice Brett Kavanaugh attend the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Gorsuch maintained that he would not comment on politics in an election year, but said criticism comes “with the territory.”
“All I can do is work as ajudge.I’m going to stay out ofpolitics.It’s a presidential electionyear.All I can do is fulfill my oathas best I can,” he said. “My job is to decide cases andcontroversies as fairly as I canto the people who come beforeme.There are two lives on eitherside… in every case.A wise old judge once told meyour job is to make half thepeople unhappy 100% of the time.Somebody has to win and somebodyhas to lose.And that is just the nature of thejob.If there are criticisms, thatkind of comes with the territory.”
Gorsuch proceeded to defend the High Court, telling Smith, “I think we have an amazinginstitution.”
“The American peoplefile 50 million lawsuits everyyear.Out of 340 million of us, that’s like 1 out of 7, and I’mnot counting parking tickets orspeeding tickets.You are a rather litigious bunch, you all,”he said.
Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch stands during a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, April 23, 2021. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File)
“Almost all of those cases are resolvedat the trial court level withoutappeal.Somebody wins and somebodyloses.The loser, and I representedplenty of them when I was inprivate practice, accept theloss.They may not like it but theywere heard.And they feel like they wereheard and they understand it.
“That’s how determinate our lawis in this country.I think when you step back andlook at the forest, you realizerule of law in this country isamazing and our independentjudiciary is a blessing.”
Last month, Biden and Vice President Harris called on Congress to impose term limits and a code of conduct on the Supreme Court while also drafting limits on presidential immunity. Critics have called the push “radical,” and accused Biden and Harris of trying to gin up votes from the left-wing base of the Democrat party despite previously branding themselves as “moderates.”
Yael Halon is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to yael.halon@fox.com.
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