And for good reason: He was a student at Harvard Law School when now-Justice Elena Kagan was dean. Indeed, she recommended him for the two clerkships he received, the first for Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (2010-11), and the second for her colleague, Justice Anthony Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court (2011-12).

In addition to his clerkships, Walker was a Pentagon speechwriter for former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. He now teaches legal writing at Brandeis Law. 

He shared his insights with UofL News on President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch.

UofL News: Who is Judge Neil Gorsuch?

Walker: Judge Gorsuch is a federal appellate judge in Colorado who graduated from Columbia, Harvard and Oxford. He is married with two kids, loves the outdoors and is the son of the first female administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Among the judges who Gorsuch clerked for after law school was Justice Anthony Kennedy, which means Justice Kennedy will be the first justice ever to serve on the Supreme Court at the same time as a former clerk, if Gorsuch is confirmed.

UofL News: If confirmed, how would Gorsuch change the makeup of the court?

°Â˛ą±ô°ě±đ°ů:ĚýPresident Trump said he would replace Justice Scalia with someone who will vote like Justice Scalia. If that’s what he’s done, then the ideological balance of the court will not change. But it’s not the difference between Gorsuch and Scalia that’s history-making; it’s the difference between Gorsuch and Judge Merrick Garland.

UofL News: Judge Garland was, of course, Barack Obama’s nominee to the Court last year, which Senate Republicans blocked. What do you mean about the difference between him and Gorsuch?

Walker: Although Gorsuch and Garland are alike in many ways – both elite thinkers, both very well educated, both well respected by other judges of all persuasions – there is a significant difference. Garland was not conservative. Gorsuch is. On a court as evenly divided as today’s court, Garland would have would have made the That won’t happen now.

UofL News: How does his style compare to Justice Scalia’s?

Walker: Judge Gorsuch’s respect for Justice Scalia was so great that when he heard the news of Scalia’s death while skiing in Colorado, . That doesn’t mean they are exactly the same in their style and approach to the law. But like Scalia, he considers himself a textualist, which means he says he feels bound to apply the law as it is written, not necessarily as he thinks it should be written. Of course, some textualists are accused of not always practicing what they preach. For Judge Gorsuch, time will tell. But his record suggests a fidelity to the text.

UofL News: How does he compare to the current justices?

Walker: In many ways, he’s like them. Like Gorsuch, they were all federal appellate judge before becoming Supreme Court justices. Like him, they all studied at Harvard or Yale. And like him, they all built careers that put them at the top of their field through their hard work and intellectual firepower. If Judge Gorsuch is confirmed, I think his eight colleagues will see someone who shares their high standards, their passion for the law and their respect for collegiality.

UofL News: He has been described as taking an originalist approach to the Constitution. Can you explain what this means?

Walker: Originalists care about what the text of Constitution originally meant to the people who ratified it. But like most things in law, it’s more complicated than that. Few originalists care only about original meaning; for example, even Justice Scalia sometimes deferred to precedents that were inconsistent with it. And likewise, among the many judges who don’t label themselves “originalists,” few of them care nothing about original meaning. As Justice Kagan said last year,

UofL News: When the court has all nine justices in place, what are some of the major issues you would expect it to tackle in coming years?

Walker: There are lots to choose from, but I’ll mention three that come to mind.

One is free speech. The recent court has been among the most pro-speech courts ever, especially when it comes to speech that majorities of justices have viewed as political – and that their dissenting colleagues consider either not political, or not speech. How much farther will this court go to strike down limits on what they view as political speech protected by the First Amendment?

Another area is gun control: Heller said you have the right to a handgun in your home. What about outside your home? What about other kinds of guns? Stay tuned.

A third area I’ll mention isn’t the most high profile, but it’s one that could have a big impact on who has power in Washington. When it comes to federal agencies, how much power should those agencies have? Under current precedent, they have a lot of flexibility in interpreting the statutes that empower them. And under current precedent, Congress has a lot of flexibility in granting those agencies somewhat undefined authorities. There are some signs Judge Gorsuch is skeptical of some of those precedents, and if he’s confirmed, he might have company.

UofL News: How long might Gorsuch serve?

Walker: Judge Gorsuch is 49, the youngest nominee in a quarter century. The oldest justice ever was Oliver Wendell Holmes, at 90. In other words, if Gorsuch is confirmed, I doubt he’ll tell his real estate agent he’s looking to rent.

See more of Walker’s thoughts on the changes facing the Supreme Court here:

He is active in several community and UofL organizations and was recently named the university’s faculty grievance officer, where he will assist faculty in dispute resolution. UofL News had the chance to talk to Powell recently about his career path, his public service work and his loyalty to Cleveland sports.

UofL News: What brought you to the Brandeis School of Law?
Cedric Powell: Before I came here, I was at a large New York firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. I was there about four years, but I always wanted to teach. Before that, I was the Karpatkin Fellow in the American Civil Liberties Union in their national legal office. Before that, I clerked in DC. I did different things looking toward teaching.

I went to what they called the “meat market” years ago, an annual recruitment event they have in DC. I interviewed at some schools and got a call back here, interviewed and got the job and been here ever since.

I always envisioned, at least at some point, being a law professor.

UofL News: What was it about being a law professor that was attractive to you?
Powell: You can do a lot of different things. You’re not formally practicing but you’re bringing practice experience. There still is the opportunity to be involved in discrete projects, calling upon what you did in your former career. I’m still involved in a lot of public interest litigation on some level, usually working on appellate briefs or amicus briefs.

You can be involved in a lot of different things as well as being in the classroom and having the time to think, research and write. People say that scholarship is just talking to ourselves and just the professors read it, and on some level that is true.

But scholarship should also try to push for change in a positive way. That’s important in the law. That’s something that judges do. We certainly aren’t judges, but we certainly have the ability to impact public opinion. And that’s probably the most appealing part about this job — being involved in everything.

UofL News: You’re dean for research at Brandeis Law. What does that role entail?
±Ę´Ç·É±đ±ô±ô:ĚýIt provides support for the faculty. You bring in interesting speakers for symposia. Last year we brought in someone to talk about the bar examination and incorporating those techniques into the classroom. We did a panel discussion on community-engaged scholarship because we’re actively involved in trying to define that and how we measure both our impact in the community and how faculty members will be evaluated.

I provide support for junior faculty in advancing their scholarship, which may mean just sitting back and helping them pay for a symposium to talk about writing or trying to organize informal workshops where they can get comments on their papers. Some of that, they do by themselves, but I’m here to help with suggestions on articles and any other discussions that they may want to have.

It’s sort of like continuing legal education for law professors.

UofL News: You were named UofL’s faculty grievance officer in September. How do you plan to approach that role?
±Ę´Ç·É±đ±ô±ô:ĚýI will continue in the tradition of my predecessor and colleague, , who recently began her tenure as Faculty Senate chair, to ensure that faculty members are fully informed about the procedures outlined in the (UofL’s basic governance document) and how to work through the informal and formal grievance processes to resolve disputes in a manner that respects our shared values at the university.

UofL News: You’ve been chairman of the TARC board since 2008. What is that work like?
±Ę´Ç·É±đ±ô±ô:ĚýWe’ve been able to do some things to modernize our transit system. We have electric buses. We have fuel-efficient buses.

We recently dedicated a $50 million improvement on Dixie Highway. Louisvillians derisively refer to it as “Dixie Dieway” because of the high speeds, narrow lanes and high occurrence of serious accidents. We’re trying to change that with dedicated bus routes. We’re going to do something called bus rapid transit, which will focus on access, mobility and broader lanes for buses. We’re going to try to change the traffic pattern. We hope that this will lead to better things in terms of looking at a modern transportation system.

UofL News: What’s something that people might be surprised to know about you?
±Ę´Ç·É±đ±ô±ô:ĚýI like Cleveland sports. I’m from Cleveland. The baseball team is playing well. I keep telling my friends they’re going to win the World Series. Nobody believes me.