Gorsuch’s Speech to Conservative Group Is Only One to Bar Media

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is planning to give a closed-door speech Friday at an event sponsored by the Federalist Society, the powerful legal group that helped put him and two fellow conservatives on the court.

Gorsuch will join former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany in speaking to the annual conference of the Federalist Society’s Florida chapters. Gorsuch’s speech is the only part of the program to be closed to the press.

Neil Gorsuch

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Gorsuch didn’t immediately respond to a request to explain why the event, being held at the Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort outside Orlando, was closed to the media. A spokesman for the Federalist Society referred inquiries about the speech to the Supreme Court.

Critics blasted the decision to close the speech.

“The Justices *know* the message it sends when they choose to give speeches in settings -- and under circumstances -- that reinforce criticisms of partisanship, lack of transparency, or both,” University of Texas constitutional law professor Steve Vladeck said in a tweet. “That some of them choose to do it *anyway* is just a gratuitous, self-inflicted wound.”

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island and a frequent critic of the court’s conservative wing, tweeted that Gorsuch was attending a Federalist Society event “surrounded by ‘MAGA elite.’” He added: “Gee, what could possibly be wrong with that?”

Supreme Court justices set their own rules when it comes to their public appearances. Although members of the court sometimes ban video coverage of speeches, they usually permit reporters to attend and take notes -- at least when prodded to do so. Gorsuch is among several conservative justices who have given public speeches at the Federalist Society’s annual national convention in Washington.

The speech comes midway through a term in which the Supreme Court is considering overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. The two-day program includes a Saturday discussion titled “The End of Roe v. Wade?”

The Federalist Society’s longtime executive vice president, Leonard Leo, was a key adviser to former President Donald Trump on his three Supreme Court selections, helping to put together a list of prospective nominees. Trump nominated Gorsuch, who was on the list, less than two weeks after becoming president.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Elizabeth Wasserman at ewasserman2@bloomberg.net

Mario Parker

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