Justice Gorsuch Blasts Covid-Era Censorship and Surveillance

In a cutting examination of the nation’s COVID-era state of civil liberties, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch leveraged a statement in a contentious Title 42 public health order lawsuit to deliver a sobering critique of the surveillance and censorship that pervaded the era. “One lesson might be this: Fear and the desire for safety are powerful forces. They can lead to a clamor for action—almost any action—as long as someone does something to address a perceived threat,” the justice wrote. “A leader or an expert who claims he can fix everything, if only we do exactly as he says, can prove an irresistible force. We do not need to confront a bayonet, we need only a nudge, before we willingly abandon the nicety of requiring laws to be adopted by our legislative representatives and accept rule by decree.” A leader or an authority figure presenting themselves as the solution, promising to resolve all issues, can become an unstoppable force in the face of such fear mongering, Justice Gorsuch wrote. As Gorsuch dissected the legal complexities surrounding Title 42, he turned his scrutiny to the nation’s pandemic response, arguing that the lawsuit encapsulated the chaotic upheaval witnessed over the last three years in terms of law-making and civil liberties. The Justice did not shy away from suggesting that America may have suffered the one of the most significant civil liberties violations in the nation’s recent history. “Make no mistake—decisive executive action is sometimes necessary and appropriate. But if emergency decrees promise…Justice Gorsuch Blasts Covid-Era Censorship and Surveillance