Plays and gentlemen please Welcome Supreme Court justice kneeled gorgeous and. Ryan. [applause] good evening everyone, my name is john and i have the honor of being the executive director of the Ronald Reagan president ial foundation and institute. Thank you all for coming this evening. If you would, and honor of our men and women in uniform who protect our freedoms around the world, please stand and join me for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you please be seated. Before we get started, i would like to take a moment to recognize some special guests we have with this this evening. And i will begin with our board of trustees. We have with this government governor pete wilson and his terrific wife gail. [applause] from North Carolina, all the way North Carolina mr. Ben sutton, ben thank you for coming. [applause] former congressman retired but just as busy as ever galligan his wife janet. [applause] so now onto tonights program. Ladies and gentlemen it is my honor to invite. Ryan, chairman of the board of trustees of the Reagan Foundation and institute to our stage. [applause] good evening everyone, welcome to the Reagan Library. And thank you for joining us for what we know will be a fascinating conversation. We are honored to have as our special guest this evening justice kneeled gorgeous. It is generally understood that after you go through senate you you never have to answer questions again that you dont have to. [laughter] and said you get to ask the questions. But justice we appreciate your taking exception for this evenings interview. [laughter] i promise i will make my best to do them better than in judiciary committee. I know thats a low bar. [applause] if you see a copy of justice gorgeous book, you will know that he had two collaborators. His formers clerk jane nitze and david federer. And we are pleased to have david in the audience tonight, david where are you. [applause] and we are honored that david is joined by his grandmother who is very special to us vera is had been a docent at the Reagan Library for more than 20 years. [applause] i would say you should never underestimate the power and influence of our doses they can remake a sick preemie Court Justice to the Reagan Library. Will david and vera are not just our only link to Ronald Reagan. In 1993 and 94, justice courses as a court to Anthony Kennedy who is president reagans third and final appointments to the high court. Twentythree years layers justice was a first clerk to serve aside his fellow boss as a Supreme Court justice. David and hope youre taking notes. [laughter] the resist lineage, todays Supreme Court reflects the reagan legacy. There was no secret what president reagan wanted that legacy to be. Americas courts he said quote should interpret the law not make it. The role of the Supreme Court in his view was to quote to make sure that principles of law are based on the constitution. Justices new book it was practically a users manual to the faithful interpretation of our constitution. Its also a wakeup call to what we might wrist if we stray too far from the constitutional principles. The title of justices book is a republic, if you can keep it. That phrase is how Benjamin Franklin is said to have answered citizens questions about what type of government the founders had created at the Constitutional Convention with his response franco was trying to convey just how fragile our constitutional liberties are. And how vigilant our citizens must be to preserve them. As the same caution that president reagan urged in his famous line, freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. During tonights conversation i look forward to learning what Americas Court instances can do to preserve our constitutional freedoms for the next generation. Ladies and gentlemen please join me and welcome to the Reagan Library justice kneeled gorgeous. I hope i do all right. [applause] [applause] we are delighted and honored to have your love day of the publication of your book. Will i am so happy to be a west of the mississippi i cannot tell you. [laughter] thank you for having me at something of look forward to this museum. Ive never been and its a real treat. Thank you to john for a wonderful wonderful to her. Will your book opens an interesting series of events for their trip back to washington on the occasion of your announcement, the announcement of your nomination Supreme Court. And in many ways he reminds me of the screenplay of an action novel. Can you share a little bit of that with us . Well to say it was unexpecte unexpected, doesnt begin to capture how it felt to me and my family. And ive got a few stories or tell. But ill do share one with you not only did we have to sneak out of our hometown in colorado, 4000 hardy souls, we had to sneak into the white house. And they took us into the kitchen. Im there still bits down there and you probably know this better than i do that bear the scars from the war of 1812. Bullet holes and fire marks. Where the marble had been burned. And the present was gracious enough to lend me the use of the lincoln bedroom as office for the day. Wow. I sat writing my remarks for that evening at a desk aware the gettysburg address sits. The president gave my wife who is an immigrant, from england, the use of the queens bedroom across the hall. And she was allowed one phone call. [laughter] and it had to be to somebody back in england. It couldnt be to anyone americas osha called her dad. She said dad you wont believe it, its gonna be neil. And its about to happen. And he said oh honey ive stayed up late very late in england it was an evening announcement. In the east room. And he said ive been watching your Television Programs over here, and theres another fellow a dear friend of mine who they caught on tape driving towards washington. So its not going to be neil. [laughter] and laws right . [laughter] and she said will dad im in the queens bedroom. I think its going to be neil. [laughter] and she said, and he said zero but honey, the other guy could be down the hall. [laughter] so thats a bit of what the feel of what it was all like. And leaving your home in colorado was also a little bit of a covert operation. It was, and i tell that story in the book. But what really was a big change for me in a shock was just the loss of anonymity. I resided its a private citizen more or less peacefully and happily in colorado and all the sudden everywhere, i am recognized. And i must say, everyone who comes up to me as something nice to say. [applause] they may say i voted for the president or voted against the president but i wish you well. I love our country. I love our courts, i love her constitution. And then if im looking particular forlorn that day in the line at starbucks they might tell me a joke. [laughter] but one moment that really captured it for me, was i was taking planes back and forth. I had to meet all of those centers in washington and i didnt bring enough clothing. [laughter] i had to have a buddy go out and buy me some more shirts. I got pneumonia on the way back and forth i was gone so much, and then feeling sorry for myself and for no good reason. Im the luckiest guy know. But we were in a plane and a little bit of turbulence and im seated next to little girl. She was probably six years old. She didnt know or care her i was, but she was scared and she wanted to hold someones hand. And she asked me, may hold your hand . And i said of course. It reminded me of my girls that age. On the flight smoothed out and she said would you like to draw . [laughter] only spent the next two and half hours drawing and coloring. [laughter] and i think those are my favorite two an and a half hours the entire process. [laughter] the sweet part was though that after words, after that happy moment of anonymity, her mother then but i had been behind us and i didnt know that. She had recognized me. And she made sure that a thank you note was sent to my office two weeks later. And it was drawn by that little girl. To stick figures in front of an airplane. Saying thank you for the fun. That to me is what america is about. And that to me is what i got to see when i lost my anonymity. When god take something away, he often gives you something in return. And thats what ive gotten to see. Its a real privilege. [applause] no you did a previous book different subject, but could you tell us what inspired you to write this book . And especially the selection of the franklin quote for the title . I resolve during the confirmation process that i wanted to Say Something about america and the constitution. The confirmation process change a little bit. Back when president reagan nominated Justice Scalia to the court, my predecessor, the great man smoked a pipe during his hearing. [laughter] before the senate. I dont think were going to see that again. [laughter] my old boss byron weitz, the only other justice in colorado, his hearing lasted 15 minutes. Thats about how long my hearing lasted in the Circuit Court of appeals when i was nominated for the first time. The second time was lowell different. [laughter] during that process, i came to feel some basic things about our country. We need some reminders. We need are minors all of us do. About the wonder of our constitution, how blessed we are to live under it. How all of us have a role to play in our republic. Its not supposed to be run by a small group. Its we the people. Those of the first three words of the constitution. And i became concerned during the process that some people think that judges are just like politicians that we wear capes rather than robes. And its for us to solve every problem emily rule certain way, we must like that person we ruled for. Or dislike that person be rule against. And all of that was just so foreign to my lived experience as a lawyer and a judge. Lawyers ive admires, judges ive admired, know that laws not politics. In the judges are not supposed to be politicians. And there are constitution is the greatest charter of human liberty the world is ever known, and it is a great privilege to do nothing more than uphold it and pass it down to the next generation. That is what i wanted to write about. Because that is my experience of the law. And i want to offer folks a little peek into my life, with the courts, how a judge thanks. See you can see for yourself how different it is than a politician. Politicians are elected to do your will. Judges are not elected and their job is to exercise what Madison Hampton called legal judgment not well. Its right there in the federal federalist papers number 78. Thats what i wanted to talk about that. [applause] and fried when i dig into it further i came to learn that we do have a problem. 30 of americans only 30 of americans can name the three branches of government. About a third another third can name one. And 10 of americans apparently think judge judy serves on the Supreme Court. [laughter] i respect judge judy, i like judge judy. [laughter] that she is not one of my colleagues. [laughter] so when i talk about these things and before i go another step further i want to say i was joyfully able to do it with two of my wonderful law clerks. And david fedor is here. Janie is not. But let me brag on them for just ten seconds. This young man comes from a family of mexican immigrants and the holocaust survivors. He saved up his pennies at cal poly as an undergrad so he could achieve his dream of attending Harvard Law School. Which she did and graduated first in his class. [applause] janie is every bit as special, her family escaped communism, czechoslovakia. She came here and managed to go to, got degrees in statistics and physics. And then wrecked her way through Harvard Law School as well as david did. Wound up clerking for both me and another. All right. Those are the people for whom i write this book. I am joyfully able to work with and they give me such hope for the future. [applause] thank you. [applause] both of them served as your law clerks, and i know you have some simple rules that you give your law clerks. Can you share this with us . While they go about the judges rule in the constitution. On their very simple. I tell them if you do these two things, we are going to get along just fine this year. I dont care how you come dressed her work, i dont care more or less what hours you work, i would like to see it from time to time. [laughter] but i just have two rules. First, please dont make anything up. Just follow the law as faithfully as you can. Thats the judges job. So help me with that. Thats hard enough. Figuring out what the law is. Those words on the page mean. With their original meeting was. And applying them to new circumstances, thats hard. Thats rule number one. Rule number two, when people start yelling, asking you begging you to make stuff up, telling you youre a terrible person if you dont make stuff up. Telling you worst of all they might not invite you to their cocktail parties if you dont. Just refer back to rule number one. [laughter] [applause] thank you. Will getting into your book, one of the major themes is the framers vision of separated powers. And the dangers of blurring those lines of separation. Can you talk a little bit about why that is so important . We all know our First Amendment rights. Our fourth minute rights. We know the bill of rights. And we know how they contribute to our liberty. But i sometimes wonder if we dont appreciate enough the separation of powers and how important it is. How important is to our liberty. Many countries have wonderful bills of rights. Both koreas ha north korea has my favorite. It has everything we can find our bill of rights and more. Free education, healthcare, and even my favorite, a right to relaxation. [laughter] now i dont know how thats working for the Political Prisoners in north korea, but the. Is they knew this when they wrote the constitution. That those are just promises. He didnt even think we needed a bill of rights if we got the constitution and the structure. The separation of powers right. He knew that men are not angels, and that the key to your liberty is keeping power separated. I am 19s of a one third of the federal government which is one half of the government in the country. Right . Divide power. I think what happens when we ignore the separation of powers is sometimes been forgotten. Nine of the separation of powers assigned of academic and wonky, and it did to me when i learned High School Civics and was floored by it. But as a judge, ive been a judge for a while now, especially just in the day in and day out cases in the circuit. I came to see what happens when you blur the lines with the separation of powers and real peoples lives. And can i offer couple examples . So what happens when the legislative power, how to make new laws is transferred to the executive branch . Well, imagine lawmaking to be really hard, especially a public process with two houses of congress responsive to different elections at different times. Right . The whole idea was to make minorities part of the legislative process so they could exert special powers to protect themselves. Thats how we thought minority rights to be protected. Most of all, more than a list of promises the bill of rights. Which she dutifully rode after everyone made them but he did not bill was necessary. What happens when you take that process and put in the hands of the executive branch . The exec of branches most to enforce a lot not make the wall. Madison had in mind you can make it through this process it should be enforced. Lets put all the power and one persons hands. Right customer the president. They decided against management by committee. So what happens when you take out 435 elected representatives and put one person in its place . You have a king for four years. I dont exaggerate, but what happens when that powers delegated . Give cases like and i talk about in the book, Small Business in colorado, momandpop type operation. Provides nursing care inhome nursing care. Its a good size business. They get accused by the federal government of medicare fraud. Less than if your business, right . There find 800,000. But then that later turns out many years later through litigation, that they have complied with all of the rules in place of the time. And that the agency was promulgating so many rules and laws, they were enforceable with criminal sanctions, some of them. But even the agency could not keep up. I asked my law clerks how many of these criminal regulations are out there on the books, written by federal executive agencies responsible only to the president and sometimes not in responsible to the president at all. And they said that academics stopped counting many years ago when they got to over 300,000. Alright thats one example. What happens when the power to judge is transferred to the executive branch . Well i had that come before me. At immigrants, forming who want to look at the law they win. They deserve to win. But we have doctrines that say no, judges, independent judges should defer to the interpretation of the law by an executive bureaucrat. So, even though i think the veteran should win, the immigrant should win, the Social Security benefit recipient should win, i have to rule the other way. What happens to your right to an independent judge . What happens to your right to participate in the lawmaking process . This is supposed to be a republic. Thank you. Will speaking of the three branches, do you feel the three branches are coequal . I hope so. Where they always consistently maintain the same role over time just one become more powerful than the other . I think one can question whether by virtue of a lot of whats happening in her world, a lot of power had exactly has