On November 9, 2024, Roger and I had the pleasure of attending the Federalist Society’s annual Scalia dinner in Washington, D.C. at which the guest speakers were Justice Gorsuch and retired Justice Breyer. As a former co-founder of the University of Colorado in Boulder Chapter of the Federalist Society, with my then-fellow student, Judge Tim Tymkovich, I always look forward to these annual dinners.
This year the speakers chose the topic of Regulatory Reform. Justice Gorsuch discussed his new book, Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law, and Justice Breyer discussed a book published in 1982 entitled, Regulation and Its Reform. The justices agreed that regulation often took a heavy toll on those with less access to the judicial system. As Gorsuch states in his book:
“America has always been a nation of laws. But today our laws have grown so vast and reach so deeply into our lives that it’s worth asking: In our reverence for law, have we gone too far?
Over just the last few decades, laws in this nation have exploded in number; they are increasingly complex; and the punishments they carry are increasingly severe. Some of these laws come from our elected representatives, but many now come from agency officials largely insulated from democratic accountability.
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Some law is essential to our lives and our freedoms. But too much law can place those very same freedoms at risk and even undermine respect for law itself. And often those who feel the cost most acutely are those without wealth, power, and status.”
