Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I still have a 15¢ sticker on the frame of my law degree. It's tainted, so I just leave it in the basement.
I do know one thing about me: I don't measure myself by others' expectations or let others define my worth.
People have to be educated and they have to stick to it. If people lose that respect, an awful lot is lost.
It is difficult to maintain the illusion that we are interpreting a Constitution, rather than inventing one.
We've talked more about civil rights after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 than we talked about it before 1964.
There are no bystanders in life [...] Our humanity makes us each a part of something greater than ourselves.
Although I grew up in very modest and challenging circumstances, I consider my life to be immeasurably rich.
You can't be a minority in this society without having someone express disapproval about affirmative action.
We are selected, but I grew up in California and in San Francisco and there was a system of electing judges.
Words no longer have meaning if an Exchange that is not established by a State is "established by the State".
I am especially indebted to a 10th grade English teacher who encouraged me to read great works of literature.
There's a time for debate and a time for consensus. There's a time for advocacy and time for first principles.
Day by day, case by case, the Supreme Court is busy designing a Constitution for a country I do not recognize.
It really bugs me that someone will tell me, after I spent 20 years being educated, how I'm supposed to think.
We've come a long way from the days where there was state-enforced segregation. But we still have a way to go.
Without question, so many people, throughout my life, never think of Puerto Rico as part of the United States.
All judges have cases that touch our passions deeply, but we all struggle constantly with remaining impartial.
I even accept for the sake of argument that sexual orgies eliminate social tensions and ought to be encouraged.
I'm a law-and-order guy. I mean, I confess I'm a social conservative, but it does not affect my views on cases.
I strive never to forget the real world consequences of my decisions on individuals, businesses and government.
Sometimes you don't know if you're Caesar about to cross the Rubicon or Captain Queeg cutting your own tow line.
I was Catholic. You talk about a minority within a minority within a minority: a black Catholic in Savannah, GA.
A constitution, as important as it is, will mean nothing unless the people are yearning for liberty and freedom.
[On the desert:] The wind was a constant, and when you paid attention, it seemed like the earth's own breathing.
You're saying, no, state said two kinds of marriage; the full marriage, and then this sort of skim-milk marriage.
I think we understand that for the Court to work well, we have to not only respect but genuinely like each other.
Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.
What is a moderate interpretation of the text? Halfway between what it really means and what you'd like it to mean?
I disagree with the prevailing point of view of some black leaders that special treatment for blacks is acceptable.
There are some women I definitely would not want to succeed me... but a man like David Souter, that would be great.
This was a time of great intellectual excitement for me. Both college and law school opened up new worlds of ideas.
I would not like to be replaced by someone who immediately sets about undoing what I've tried to do for 25-26 years.
It is proper that we acknowledge the overwhelming weight of international opinion against the juvenile death penalty.
We should learn ... to do our best for the sake of our communities and for the sake of those for whom we pave the way.
My grandparents came worked hard, and I believe they never regretted their decision to come here and make a new start.
The Democrats do fine in presidential elections; their problem is they can't get out the vote in the midterm elections.
I don't believe we should bend the Constitution under any circumstance. It says what it says. We should do honor to it.
I am a very spiritual person. Maybe not traditionally religious in terms of Sunday Mass every week, that sort of thing.
I have never had to face anything that could overwhelm the native optimism and stubborn perseverance I was blessed with.
The main business of a lawyer is to take the romance, the mystery, the irony, the ambiguity out of everything he touches.
At my advanced age - I'm now an octogenarian - I'm constantly amazed by the number of people who want to take my picture.
After the pancreatic cancer, at first I went to N.I.H. every three months, then every four months, then every six months.
My mother graduated from high school at 15 and went to work to support the family because the eldest son went to college.
My job as a prosecutor is to do justice. And justice is served when a guilty man is convicted and an innocent man is not.
We have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world, and it starts out with three words, 'We, the people.'
I can't imagine what this place would be - I can't imagine what the country would be - with Donald Trump as our president.
As the Constitution endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom.
If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder? Can we have it against other things?
Anybody who has been discriminated against, who comes from a group that's been discriminated against, knows what it's like.
Each time I see a split infinitive, an inconsistent tense structure or the unnecessary use of the passive voice, I blister.