The Case of the Frozen Trucker: A Collage and Homage

Abstract

Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch has been questioned sharply by certain senators about his reasoning in the now-notorious "case of the frozen trucker". This Essay assimilates that case to Lon Fuller's classic work of Legal Process, the "Case of the Speluncean Explorers." By setting out various opinions on the frozen-trucker case by the fictional Supreme Court of "Newergarth", this Essay explores ongoing jurisprudential debates concerning the proper role of courts in construing statutes and how courts should approach administrative lawmaking. The (fictional) Newergarth Court whose opinions appear herein comprises not only Chief Justice "Truenickel", but also Justices "Moresuch", "Phranken", and "Houghtelier".

The Essay may be of particular interest to those teaching legislation, administrative law, or fed courts.

Keywords: Gorsuch, Trump, Chevron, administrative law, legal process, absurdity, deference, judicial review, textualism, purposivism