The admittance of tyranny is now enshrined by the high court in the annals of American history.

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch’s recent statement in Arizona v. Mayorkas, made on May 18, 2023, calls to our attention an essential crisis confronting our Republic – the pressing need to uphold the constitutional order and demand from our elected leaders an unwavering commitment to securing the liberties they swore an oath to protect.

From Justice Gorsuch’s perspective, the past few years have seen an unprecedented encroachment on civil liberties in the name of emergency decrees and public health. He correctly points out that “executive officials across the country issued emergency decrees on a breathtaking scale,” with severe consequences for our way of life – closing businesses, schools, and churches, and essentially imposing restrictions on people’s liberty to move and gather freely.

This encroachment on civil liberties must be seen as a deviation from our constitutional order. As Gorsuch states, “Fear and the desire for safety are powerful forces.” The last three years are a stark reminder of these forces and will hopefully serve as a warning that it is incumbent on the American people to refuse compliance with arbitrary power and ensure that this never happens again. How different things might have been if citizens would have stood together in civil disobedience to this tyranny.

Our Constitution vests lawmaking power in our elected representatives, not in the executive branch. Justice Gorsuch’s criticism of the silence of the state legislatures and Congress during this period should serve as a wake-up call for our elected representatives. He states that our “normal lawmaking processes” must not be disregarded for the sake of expediency, and he is correct. No crisis, no matter how severe, should result in our acceding to “the loss of many cherished civil liberties.” Our Republic is founded on principles of shared power and robust debate, not unilateral rule by decree.

So far, legislators in the state of Tennessee have failed to address the issue of allowing the Governor the ability to create an unlimited and unceasing state of emergency without legislative approval. During the 2023 session, Rep. Bryan Richey sponsored HB422 which would have required the General Assembly to approve the extension of any emergency declaration beyond forty-five days. The bill failed in subcommittee and was directly lobbied against by the office of Governor Bill Lee. (Please see the video below for the hearing on March 28, 2023. It is enlightening.)

Gorsuch’s critique is not just limited to the excessive use of executive power. He admonishes the judicial system for its complicity in allowing the overreach of the executive branch. He writes, “Courts bound to protect our liberties addressed a few—but hardly all—of the intrusions upon them.” This reflection is a call to arms for all three branches of government to maintain their unique and constitutionally outlined roles in our political system.

The American judiciary’s purpose is to serve as a bulwark against the potential tyranny of the other branches of government. The Founders envisioned a strong and independent judiciary that would stand up for the individual liberties of the people and uphold the Constitution’s core tenets, even in the face of political pressure or popular sentiment. But that system failed the American people in dramatic fashion.

Gorsuch also criticizes the courts for letting litigants “manipulate our docket to perpetuate a decree designed for one emergency to address another.” He suggests that the courts have allowed themselves to be a vehicle for perpetuating excessive executive power, instead of putting checks on them.

This alleged passivity by the judiciary effectively left everyday citizens subject to the tyranny of those who abused their power. Without the court actively checking executive overreach, citizens found themselves without the legal recourse they should have been able to rely on. As such, the courts played a role in the loss of the very liberties they were supposed to defend.

Gorsuch further suggests that the “concentration of power in the hands of so few” not only lacks wisdom but does not lead to “sound government.” Instead, he argues for a return to the legislative process, “the wisdom of the whole of the American people,” which can only be expressed through robust and uncensored debate.

Most notably, Gorsuch calls for re-evaluating the extent of executive powers both at the federal and state level. He suggests that we need to examine and question the long-lasting impact of emergency decrees and how they often outlive the crises that generate them. Moreover, he emphasizes the need to strike a balance, recognizing that while “decisive executive action is sometimes necessary and appropriate,” overreliance on emergency edicts threatens our democratic foundations.

This is a clarion call for upholding constitutional order and demanding more from our government officials and elected leaders. It is also a demand for accountability. How can we ever hope to steer ourselves back onto the path of constitutional order without holding those accountable who viciously and mercilessly put our nation on the path to ruin? I pray this statement from the high court now begins a groundswell and unrelenting call to purge the ranks of elected officials who abused the trust of those they swore to protect.

Let us heed Justice Gorsuch’s words and ensure that our Republic is steered back toward its foundational principles – liberty, debate, the rule of law, and a proper balance of power.