Quotes by Judge | Beyond Motive 7/14

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Quotes by Judge

"Experience teaches us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent."

"Experience teaches us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent."

Louis D. Brandeis, American Judge

Experience, Government, Liberty

49

"I don't know one of my friends who is considered a conservative who has not had to go back and thoroughly think through everything. You do a lot of soul-searching - 'cause we are not going to win any popularity contests."

"I don't know one of my friends who is considered a conservative who has not had to go back and thoroughly think through everything. You do a lot of soul-searching - 'cause we are not going to win any popularity contests."

Clarence Thomas, American Judge

Soul, Conservative, Friends, Popularity

49

"And the problem is once you get into this campaign business and begin to have a lot of money, then the person on the bench begins to think - what's going to happen if I decide the case this way or that way?"

"And the problem is once you get into this campaign business and begin to have a lot of money, then the person on the bench begins to think - what's going to happen if I decide the case this way or that way?"

Stephen Breyer, American Judge

Business, Money

49

"It cannot be assumed that equity was following common law whenever they agreed, any more than the converse."

"It cannot be assumed that equity was following common law whenever they agreed, any more than the converse."

Frederick Pollock, English Judge

49

"We don't accomplish anything in this world alone... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads form one to another that creates something."

"We don't accomplish anything in this world alone... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads form one to another that creates something."

Sandra Day O'Connor, American Judge

Life, Result, World

49

"Most people, even among those who know Shakespeare well and come into real contact with his mind, are inclined to isolate and exaggerate some one aspect of the tragic fact."

"Most people, even among those who know Shakespeare well and come into real contact with his mind, are inclined to isolate and exaggerate some one aspect of the tragic fact."

Andrew Coyle Bradley, American Judge

People, Fact, Mind, Shakespeare

49

"The practice of the law is a perfectly distinct art."

"The practice of the law is a perfectly distinct art."

Frederick Pollock, English Judge

Art, Law, Practice

49

"A Shakespearean tragedy as so far considered may be called a story of exceptional calamity leading to the death of a man in high estate. But it is clearly much more than this, and we have now to regard it from another side."

"A Shakespearean tragedy as so far considered may be called a story of exceptional calamity leading to the death of a man in high estate. But it is clearly much more than this, and we have now to regard it from another side."

Andrew Coyle Bradley, American Judge

Death, Calamity, Leading, Man

49

"We cannot arrive at Shakespeare's whole dramatic way of looking at the world from his tragedies alone, as we can arrive at Milton's way of regarding things, or at Wordsworth's or at Shelley's, by examining almost any one of their important works."

"We cannot arrive at Shakespeare's whole dramatic way of looking at the world from his tragedies alone, as we can arrive at Milton's way of regarding things, or at Wordsworth's or at Shelley's, by examining almost any one of their important works."

Andrew Coyle Bradley, American Judge

Shakespeare, World

49

"The Sherman Act is similar in the economics sphere to the Bill of Rights in the personal sphere."

"The Sherman Act is similar in the economics sphere to the Bill of Rights in the personal sphere."

Harold H. Greene, American Judge

Act, Economics, Rights

49

"Media corporations have a civic responsibility not only to prevent fraud and financial abuse, but also to not corrupt or degrade our culture."

"Media corporations have a civic responsibility not only to prevent fraud and financial abuse, but also to not corrupt or degrade our culture."

Charles W. Pickering, American Judge

Finance, Financial, Abuse, Corporations, Culture

49

"When I went to law school, which after all was back in the dark ages, we never looked beyond our borders for precedents. As a state court judge, it never would have occurred to me to do so, and when I got to the Supreme Court, it was very much the same. We just didn't do it."

"When I went to law school, which after all was back in the dark ages, we never looked beyond our borders for precedents. As a state court judge, it never would have occurred to me to do so, and when I got to the Supreme Court, it was very much the same. We just didn't do it."

Sandra Day O'Connor, American Judge

Court, Law, Precedents, School

49

"The impression I have of Justice Warren is that he was looking for the just result in a case regardless of fixed dogma or principles and I like to think that I'm in that mold."

"The impression I have of Justice Warren is that he was looking for the just result in a case regardless of fixed dogma or principles and I like to think that I'm in that mold."

Harold H. Greene, American Judge

Impression, Justice, Principles, Result

49

"It is a fair summary of history to say that the safeguards of liberty have been forged in controversies involving not very nice people."

"It is a fair summary of history to say that the safeguards of liberty have been forged in controversies involving not very nice people."

Felix Frankfurter, American Judge

History, People, Liberty

49

"The testimony and the documentary evidence produced by the Government demonstrate that the Bell System had violated the antitrust laws in a number of ways over a lengthy period of time."

"The testimony and the documentary evidence produced by the Government demonstrate that the Bell System had violated the antitrust laws in a number of ways over a lengthy period of time."

Harold H. Greene, American Judge

Government, Time, Laws

49

"Even though Article IV of the Constitution says that treaties are the 'supreme law of the land,' in most instances they're not even law."

"Even though Article IV of the Constitution says that treaties are the 'supreme law of the land,' in most instances they're not even law."

Sonia Sotomayor, American Judge

Constitution, Land, Law

49

"We look to the history of the time of framing and to the intervening history of interpretation. But the ultimate question must be, what do the words of the text mean in our time."

"We look to the history of the time of framing and to the intervening history of interpretation. But the ultimate question must be, what do the words of the text mean in our time."

William J. Brennan, Jr., American Judge

History, Time, Question, Words

49

"Anybody can decide a question if only a single principle is in controversy."

"Anybody can decide a question if only a single principle is in controversy."

Felix Frankfurter, American Judge

Controversy, Question

49

"The only prize much cared for by the powerful is power."

"The only prize much cared for by the powerful is power."

Oliver Holmes, Jr., American Judge

Power, Oliver Holmes, Jr.

49

"To show a 'well-founded fear of persecution,' an alien need not prove that it is more likely than not that he or she will be persecuted in his or her home country."

"To show a 'well-founded fear of persecution,' an alien need not prove that it is more likely than not that he or she will be persecuted in his or her home country."

John Paul Stevens, American Judge

Home, Fear, Country, Persecution

49

"Who will take responsibility for raising the next generation?"

"Who will take responsibility for raising the next generation?"

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American Judge

Responsibility, Will

49

"It is enough that we set out to mold the motley stuff of life into some form of our own choosing; when we do, the performance is itself the wage."

"It is enough that we set out to mold the motley stuff of life into some form of our own choosing; when we do, the performance is itself the wage."

Learned Hand, American Judge

Life, Performance, Wage

48

"Young man, the secret of my success is that an early age I discovered that I was not God."

"Young man, the secret of my success is that an early age I discovered that I was not God."

Oliver Wendell Holmes, American Writer

Age, Success, God, Man

48

"Asking questions is an essential part of police investigation. In the ordinary sense a police officer is free to ask a person for identification without implicating the Fourth Amendment."

"Asking questions is an essential part of police investigation. In the ordinary sense a police officer is free to ask a person for identification without implicating the Fourth Amendment."

Anthony Kennedy, American Judge

Investigation, Police, Questions, Sense

48

"The point is that knowledge of God is not prohibited under the First Amendment."

"The point is that knowledge of God is not prohibited under the First Amendment."

Roy Moore, American Judge

God, Knowledge, First

48

"The thing that bothered me when I was in college was that I saw myself rejecting the way of life that got me to where I was."

"The thing that bothered me when I was in college was that I saw myself rejecting the way of life that got me to where I was."

Clarence Thomas, American Judge

48

"In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way. And in order to treat some persons equally, we must treat them differently."

"In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way. And in order to treat some persons equally, we must treat them differently."

Harry A. Blackmun, American Judge

First, Order, Race, Racism

48

"Wisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late."

"Wisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late."

Felix Frankfurter, American Judge

48

"There can be no security where there is fear."

"There can be no security where there is fear."

Felix Frankfurter, American Judge

48

"Judges rule on the basis of law, not public opinion, and they should be totally indifferent to pressures of the times."

"Judges rule on the basis of law, not public opinion, and they should be totally indifferent to pressures of the times."

Warren E. Burger, American Judge

Judges, Law, Opinion, Public

48

"There was no hostility at the court when I arrived."

"There was no hostility at the court when I arrived."

Sandra Day O'Connor, American Judge

48

"I despise making the most of one's time. Half of the pleasures of life consist of the opportunities one has neglected."

"I despise making the most of one's time. Half of the pleasures of life consist of the opportunities one has neglected."

Oliver Wendell Holmes, American Writer

Life, Time, Oliver Holmes, Jr.

48

"The case for freedom, the case for our constitutional principles the case for our heritage has to be made anew in each generation. The work of freedom is never done."

"The case for freedom, the case for our constitutional principles the case for our heritage has to be made anew in each generation. The work of freedom is never done."

Anthony Kennedy, American Judge

Work, Freedom, Principles

48

"When police or prosecutors conceal significant exculpatory or impeaching material, we hold, it is ordinarily incumbent on the state to set the record straight."

"When police or prosecutors conceal significant exculpatory or impeaching material, we hold, it is ordinarily incumbent on the state to set the record straight."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American Judge

48

"Appellant constituted a legitimate class of one, and this provides a basis for Congress's decision to proceed with dispatch with respect to his materials."

"Appellant constituted a legitimate class of one, and this provides a basis for Congress's decision to proceed with dispatch with respect to his materials."

William J. Brennan, Jr., American Judge

Decision, Class, Congress, Respect

48

"We're the only branch of government that explains itself in writing every time it makes a decision."

"We're the only branch of government that explains itself in writing every time it makes a decision."

Byron White, American Judge

Government, Time, Decision, Writing

48

"To get what you want, STOP doing what isn't working."

"To get what you want, STOP doing what isn't working."

Earl Warren, American Judge

48

"To have doubted one's own first principles is the mark of a civilized man."

"To have doubted one's own first principles is the mark of a civilized man."

Oliver Holmes, Jr., American Judge

First, Man, Principles, Oliver Holmes

48

"Those who won our independence... valued liberty as an end and as a means. They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty."

"Those who won our independence... valued liberty as an end and as a means. They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty."

Louis D. Brandeis, American Judge

Happiness, Courage, End, Independence

48

"It should be pursued as in the presence of God, and under the solemn sanctions created by a lively sense of his omniscience, and of our accountability to him for the right use of the faculties which he has bestowed."

"It should be pursued as in the presence of God, and under the solemn sanctions created by a lively sense of his omniscience, and of our accountability to him for the right use of the faculties which he has bestowed."

Simon Greenleaf, American Judge

God, Right, Sense

48

"The human brain is a wonderful organ. It starts to work as soon as you are born and doesn't stop until you get up to deliver a speech."

"The human brain is a wonderful organ. It starts to work as soon as you are born and doesn't stop until you get up to deliver a speech."

George Jessel, English Judge

48

"We who have the final word can speak softly or angrily. We can seek to challenge and annoy, as we need not stay docile and quiet."

"We who have the final word can speak softly or angrily. We can seek to challenge and annoy, as we need not stay docile and quiet."

William O. Douglas, American Judge

Challenge, Quiet, Word

48

"I think, though, if I had to look at the role of government and what it does in people's lives, I see the EEOC as having much more legitimacy than the others, if properly run."

"I think, though, if I had to look at the role of government and what it does in people's lives, I see the EEOC as having much more legitimacy than the others, if properly run."

Clarence Thomas, American Judge

Government, People

48

"We do not sit as a superlegislature to weigh the wisdom of legislation."

"We do not sit as a superlegislature to weigh the wisdom of legislation."

William O. Douglas, American Judge

Wisdom, Legislation

48

"I have to admit that I'm one of those people that thinks the dishwasher is a miracle."

"I have to admit that I'm one of those people that thinks the dishwasher is a miracle."

Clarence Thomas, American Judge

48

"To separate children from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone."

"To separate children from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone."

Earl Warren, American Judge

Age, Inferiority, Children, Community

48

"The dichotomy between personal liberties and property rights is a false one. Property does not have rights. People have rights."

"The dichotomy between personal liberties and property rights is a false one. Property does not have rights. People have rights."

Potter Stewart, American Judge

People, Rights, Property

48

"Every document, apparently ancient, coming from the proper repository or custody, and bearing on its face no evident marks of forger, the law presumes to be genuine, and devolves on the opposing party the burden of proving it to be otherwise."

"Every document, apparently ancient, coming from the proper repository or custody, and bearing on its face no evident marks of forger, the law presumes to be genuine, and devolves on the opposing party the burden of proving it to be otherwise."

Simon Greenleaf, American Judge

Burden, Law, Party

48

"Justice Ginsburg is a very competent justice, and it is a joy to have her on the court, but particularly for me it is a pleasure to have a second woman on the court."

"Justice Ginsburg is a very competent justice, and it is a joy to have her on the court, but particularly for me it is a pleasure to have a second woman on the court."

Sandra Day O'Connor, American Judge

Court, Joy, Justice, Pleasure

48

"It's so worth-while being a judge, because, if I make good, I can help prove that a woman's place is as much on the bench, in City Council, or in Congress, as in the home."

"It's so worth-while being a judge, because, if I make good, I can help prove that a woman's place is as much on the bench, in City Council, or in Congress, as in the home."

Florence E. Allen, American Judge

Home, Being, Congress, Help

48

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