J.D. Tuccille at Reason:Asked this week by Fox News’s Shannon Bream to respond to the Biden administration’s proposed restrictions on the Supreme Court, as well as a constitutional amendment addressing one of its decisions, Gorsuch first cautioned that he didn’t think it would be helpful “to get into what is now a political issue.” But then he added:
“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 the spotlight is on you, when the government is 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 your right as an American? And so, I just say, be careful.”
By itself, Gorsuch’s response seems rather strong to a three-part proposal for a constitutional amendment rolling back the court’s grant of wide-ranging immunity to presidents for official acts, term limits for justices, and a congressionally imposed code of conduct for members of the court. But Biden’s proposal comes wedded to complaints that the court isn’t producing his preferred outcomes, and amidst a continuous effort to delegitimize the country’s highest judicial body.
