National Review By Sherif Girgis December 5, 2019
A Republic, If You Can Keep It, by Neil GorsuchNot long out of law school, Neil Gorsuch was walking with his new boss, Justice Byron White, past the portraits of former justices that line the walls of the ground floor of the Supreme Court. White asked his young law clerk how many of the justices he could name. About half, Gorsuch replied. And White answered: “Me too. We’ll all be forgotten soon enough.†This self-effacing note is an unacknowledged theme of now–Justice Gorsuch’s new book, A Republic, If You Can Keep It.
The book exemplifies self-forgetfulness by offering only the lightest coverage of Gorsuch’s own biography. But the book also urges humility: on each branch of government, by touting a strict separation of powers; on judges, by defending methods of interpretation that give less play to a judge’s policy views; and on all Americans, by championing public service and civility in an age of cynicism and self-assertion.
Each chapter presents articles, judicial opinions, and speeches by Gorsuch on a common theme, prefaced by a brief overview. The first chapter discusses the value of civics and civility — of learning about our republican form of government and doing our part to advance it with respect for political rivals. As to these ideals, he fears we face a crisis.
More:
https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2019/12/22/neil-gorsuchs-judicial-humility/
