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"Do you really want me to do what I think is best for you?" Justice Gorsuch asked. "Or do you want me, maybe, to look at the laws adopted by the people's elected representatives or pursuant to the Constitution ratified by the American people as amended, and try my best to interpret those legal documents as they were originally understood?"

Explaining his path to the law, the justice revealed that he originally wanted to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and become a doctor, before realizing that he had "absolutely no aptitude for math or science." The law, Justice Gorsuch said, "is a place where you can help people with their problems if you can't do math."

Before his appointment to the high court in 2017, Justice Gorsuch served as a federal judge on the Tenth Circuit and taught a legal ethics course at the University of Colorado Law School, a role he lightheartedly recalled being asked to take by Philip Weiser, then dean of the law school.

"I said, 'Phil, I thought that class was supposed to be taught by some old graybeard who's gonna scare the kids straight with war stories,'" the justice recounted. "And he said: 'Yeah, that's exactly right. Look in the mirror.'"

As for civility between the justices, especially in the face of disagreement, strongly held views are what democracy is built on, and nothing reflects that better than the Supreme Court, according to Justice Gorsuch.

"We have to be able to voice our opinions, and of course we also have to listen to others and acknowledge that the person with whom we disagree with strongly loves this country every bit as much as we do," the justice said. "We go to battle, but then there's a firm handshake and maybe a drink afterwards. That's what we do at the Supreme Court. You don't hear about it, but that's the reality of it."

So, Wallace wondered, was the justice feeling any pressure at the moment to finish his "term papers" by the usual end-of-June deadline? No intensity, no pressure at all, Justice Gorsuch answered sarcastically.

"Every year we all look at each other in April, maybe the beginning of May, and say, 'How are we going to get this done?' And we never believe …," the justice trailed off. "It always gets done. It always gets done."