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Gorsuch Discusses Supreme Court Leaks and Private Deliberations
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch discussed recent leaks from the court during a Sunday interview. He emphasized balancing transparency with space for private deliberations among justices. Gorsuch highlighted the court's unanimous resolutions in about 40% of cases despite appointments by five presidents over 30 years.
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U.S. Supreme Court on Sunday, stating that justices must balance transparency with room for candid conversations. He noted that live audio from the Supreme Court courtroom allows people to listen to arguments and described it as great.
Gorsuch said candid conversations between oral arguments and written opinions are necessary for justices to find agreement. Gorsuch stated, 'But do we need time to actually talk quietly with one another, to find those places where we can reach agreement? Yeah, we do.
He said the bases for justices' decisions are laid out in their written opinions. A draft decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case was leaked in 2022. The Dobbs v.
Wade. Separately, 16 pages of internal Supreme Court memos about the origins of the court’s shadow docket strategy were leaked to the New York Times. The leaked memos came from the Supreme Court’s 2016 decision to halt a former President Barack Obama-era climate plan pending judicial review.
The New York Times published the leaked memos in April. Gorsuch said the Supreme Court has been appointed by five different presidents over 30 years. Gorsuch noted the Court reaches unanimous decisions in about 40% of cases, despite appointments by presidents from both parties.
Gorsuch expressed respect for colleagues with differing judicial philosophies, including those appointed by Democratic presidents. Gorsuch was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Donald Trump in 2017.
Gorsuch said, 'I don’t expect to persuade my colleagues in every case. I know we’re going to disagree. I’m an originalist. And Justice Breyer or Justice Sotomayor, they’re not originalists.
