A Republic If You Can Keep It, Neil Gorsuch, (Crown Forum 2020)

• Author: Seán Hurley
• Position: BCL (UCD), LLM (UCL)
• Pages: 84-88

IRISH JUDICIAL STUDIES JOURNAL

84

[2021] Irish Judicial Studies Journal Vol 5(2)

84

BOOK REVIEW

Neil Gorsuch,

A Republic If You Can Keep It

(Crown Forum

2020) ISBN 9780525576808, 338pp

Author: Seán Hurley, BCL (UCD), LLM (UCL)

In recent years a number of anthologies on the writings and speeches of US Justices have

been published.

1

A Republic If You Can Keep It by Justice Neil Gorsuch is unique for the fact

that it was published so shortly after the Justice’s elevation to the US Supreme Court. Justice

Gorsuch was inspired to publish this book as a result of the confirmation process he

underwent following his nomination to the Supreme Court. A motivation of the book is to

disavow some of the misapprehensions that materialised during the hearings as to the civic

understanding of the Constitution and the role of the judge in American society. What

follows is not only an excellent primer on the judge’s legal philosophy, but also of the

experiences that have shaped him and the values that animate him.

The Introduction begins by clarifying the reasoning behind the title of the collection. After

the Constitutional Convention, a bystander asked what kind of government the delegates

envisaged. Benjamin Franklin allegedly responded: ‘A republic, if you can keep it’.

2

In

Gorsuch’s view the solidity of the republic depends on citizens’ comprehension of it and the

role respective actors place in it. In particular, Gorsuch places emphasis on the importance

of judicial restraint; that judges should faithfully (and at times courageously) apply the law

and eschew the temptation to incorporate policy preferences into judgments. Gorsuch is an

adherent of Alexander Hamilton’s oft-quoted phrase that ‘the judge’s job is to exercise

“merely judgment,” not “Force [or] Will.”’

3

The Introduction also contains some compelling

anecdotes such as when Gorsuch was whisked away down a dirt-track in a neighbour’s car

in an attempt to avoid reporters who were congregating at prospective Supreme Court

Justices’ houses following Donald Trump’s release of the list of potential nominees.

Part 1 focuses on another bedrock concept that Gorsuch believes is necessary for any

republic to flourish: the importance of civics and civility. Gorsuch makes reference to the

crises of civics and civility in modern America. The crises are interconnected in that a

majority of Americans ‘say they pay less attention to politics today because of its incivility’.

4

This trend is regarded as ominous as it could threaten the future of the republic itself. He

references de Tocqueville to illustrate the success of the republic has always been

underpinned by civility: ‘“The manners of the Americans,” he wrote, “are.. the real cause

which renders that people…able to support a democratic government” ’.

5

Likewise, Gorsuch

regards civility between Justices as essential to a properly functioning Supreme Court:

We eat lunch together regularly and share experiences and laughs along the

way (Justice Breyer seems to possess an endless reservoir of knock -knock

jokes). We flip burgers together at the Court’s annual picnic and celebrate

birthdays and the holidays with song…And whenever we gather for work,

1

See for example Ruth Bader Ginsburg, My Own Words (Simon & Schuster 2016), and Christoper J Scalia and

Edward Whelan (eds), Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived (Cr own Forum 2017).

2

Neil Gorsuch, A Republic If You Can Keep It (Crown Forum 2020) 8.

3

ibid 10.

4

ibid 31.

5

ibid 32.