“He was down-to-earth and very humble” said UofL freshman Emma Lawson. “He didn’t treat us as being beneath him and he was wanting to know more about us.”

Fellow McConnell Scholar Molly Baldock agreed saying “he’s very charismatic but not a politician.”

Lawson, Baldock and 30 other McConnell Scholars had a private question and answer session with Gorsuch who was on campus as a guest of the McConnell Center and its Distinguished Speakers Series.

Freshman Grayson Ford told Gorsuch he hopes to become a lawyer but isn’t sure what area of the law he wants to pursue. According to Ford, Gorsuch told him “I wasn’t so sure either and now I’m a Supreme Court justice.”   

Gorsuch showed more flashes of humor during his 40-minute prepared speech. While praising the United States’ separation of powers between the branches of government, Gorsuch said giving federal judges the power to make laws would be a bad idea.

“Wouldn’t that be sort of like asking Lamar Jackson to do the kicking?” he joked. Jackson is the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback on UofL’s football team.

Gorsuch also recounted his predecessor’s fondness for an elk he had killed and mounted on a wall in his chambers. When Justice Antonin Scalia died, the Supreme Court staff wasn’t quite sure what to do with the elk that Scalia had named “Leroy,” so they gave it to Gorsuch as “a welcome to the neighborhood gift.”  Gorsuch has “Leroy” in his office now and says he has some things in common with the elk: “we’re both natives of Colorado; we both received a rather shocking welcome to Washington, D.C. and neither of us will ever forget Justice Scalia.”

Much of the justice’s speech focused on the concept of originalism in interpreting the U.S. constitution. Gorsuch says originalism isn’t perfect but “may be the least worst option available” to judges.

Gorsuch says he’s optimistic about the future of the politically divided country and its courts. “I do not believe in red judges or blue judges. We wear black,” he said.

While on campus, Gorsuch also met with 30 soldiers taking part in the McConnell Center’s 30-day Strategic Broadening Seminar, a leadership and training program for the U.S. Army.

Gorsuch is the third U.S. Supreme Court Justice to take part in the McConnell Center’s Distinguished Speakers Series, joining Clarence Thomas and John Roberts.      

As part of the center’s Distinguished Speakers Series, Justice  will talk and answer questions at the public event. He is also expected to meet privately with McConnell Scholar students.

“We’re honored that Justice Gorsuch has agreed to share his thoughts and insights at UofL” said Gary Gregg, director of the McConnell Center. “This is a terrific opportunity for the people of Kentucky, Indiana and our students to get to know one of our country’s most influential citizens.”

Gorsuch’s speech will be 2 p.m. in Comstock Hall, School of Music. Those wishing to attend can  from the McConnell Center.

A Colorado native, Gorsuch was nominated to the nation’s highest court by President Donald Trump. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and took his seat on April 10, 2017.

Immediately prior to joining the high court, Gorsuch was a judge for the 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals for 11 years. Gorsuch also spent 10 years in private practice and a year in the U.S. Department of Justice as principal deputy associate attorney general. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and clerked for two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Byron White and Anthony M. Kennedy.

The McConnell Center has hosted two other U.S. Supreme Court justices as part of its Distinguished Speakers Series – Chief Justice John Roberts in 2009 and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas in 2000.

The University of Louisville most recently hosted Justice Elena Kagan in October 2016 when she was presented with the Brandeis Medal from the Brandeis School of Law.