Latest Orrin Hatch Quotes from Interviews

Quotes about:

• I believe in the separation of powers. If a judge crosses the line between interpreting and making the law, he has crossed the line supporting his legitimate authority from the legislative branch's authority. Now, to me that's a very serious matter if we believe, as America's founders, did that the separation of powers - not just in theory or in textbook but in practice in the actual functioning of government - is the linchpin of limited government and liberty.

  Orrin Hatch

  Believe, Judging, Liberty

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

• America's founders were clear that the Constitution established a federal government of few and defined powers. It cannot regulate any activity it chooses, but they only regulate in those areas which the Constitution grants it power to regulate.

  Orrin Hatch

  Constitution, Founders

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

• I'm not naive. Sometimes interpretation is more of an art than a science. There are those who would label interpretation absolutely anything a judge might do or, two, the text of a statute or the Constitution. But it seems to me there comes a point where a judge is using his own creativity and purpose and crosses the line between interpreting a text written by somebody else and in a sense creating something new.

  Orrin Hatch

  Art, Creativity, Judging

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

• I don't want to be overly critical about our military or our intelligence people, because it's a tough job. But neither should think be beating their breasts and saying what a wonderful job they did.

  Orrin Hatch

  Jobs, Military, Thinking

  Source: www.realclearpolitics.com

• It's typical of Mormon people to love all people, but especially Jewish people.

  Orrin Hatch

  People, Typical

  Source: mormontruthinterviews.blogspot.com

• I wear a mezuzah just to remind me, just to make sure that there is never another holocaust anywhere.

  Orrin Hatch

  Holocaust

  Source: mormontruthinterviews.blogspot.com

• The fact that Judge [Samuel] Alito is such a baseball fan gives me even more confidence that he knows the proper role of a judge.

  Orrin Hatch

  Baseball, Giving, Judging

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

• We should evaluate judges and judicial nominees based on the general process for applying the law to any legal disputes, not on the specific result in a particular case or dispute.

  Orrin Hatch

  Law, Judging, Disputes

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

• Chief Justice [John] Roberts compared judges to umpires, who apply rules they did not write and cannot change to the competition before them.

  Orrin Hatch

  Writing, Umpires, Justice

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

• Scorecards are common in the political process, but they are inappropriate in the judicial process. The most important tools in the judicial confirmation process are not litmus paper and a calculator.

  Orrin Hatch

  Political, Important, Tools

  "Senate Confirmation Hearings - Day 1". www.nytimes.com. January 9, 2006.

• A judicial standard means that a judicious decision can be entirely correct, even when the result does not line up with our preferred political positions or cater to certain political interests.

  Orrin Hatch

  Mean, Decision, Political

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

• We must apply a judicial, not a political, standard to this record. Asking a judicial nominee whose side you will be on in future cases is a political standard.

  Orrin Hatch

  Political, Asking, Records

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

• We must apply a judicial rather than a political standard to the information before us [if choosing a Judge].

  Orrin Hatch

  Judging, Political, Information

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

• Because judges may not issue advisory opinions, judicial nominees may not do so either, especially on issues likely to come before the court. That rule has always been honored.

  Orrin Hatch

  Issues, Judging, May

  U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Judge Samuel Alito's Nomination to the Supreme Court, www.washingtonpost.com. January 9, 2006.

• When Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg was before us in 1993, she said that her standard was to give no hints, no forecasts, no previews, and declined to answer dozens of questions.

  Orrin Hatch

  Giving, Judging, Hints

  U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Judge Samuel Alito's Nomination to the Supreme Court, www.washingtonpost.com. January 9, 2006.

• This principle that judges are not politicians lies at the very heart of a judicial job - of the judicial job description.

  Orrin Hatch

  Jobs, Lying, Heart

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

• We must remember that judicial nominees are constrained in what they may discuss and how they may discuss it.

  Orrin Hatch

  May, Remember, Judicial

  "Alito Says Judges Shouldn't Bring Agenda to Cases" by Richard W. Stevenson and Neil A. Lewis, www.nytimes.com. January 10, 2006.

• In our system of government, the judicial and legislative branches have different roles. Judges are not politicians. Judges must decide cases, not champion causes. Judges must settle legal disputes, not pursue agendas. Judges must interpret and apply the law, not make the law.

  Orrin Hatch

  Government, Law, Judging

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

• The debate over judicial nominations is a debate over the judiciary itself. It is a debate over how much power unelected judges should have in our system of government, how much control judges should have over a written constitution that belongs to the people.

  Orrin Hatch

  Government, Should Have, Judging

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

• Ending up in the right place in this debate requires starting in the right place. The right place to start is the proper discrimination of what judges are supposed to do, and the rest of the process should reflect this judicial job description.

  Orrin Hatch

  Jobs, Judging, Discrimination

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

• Under the Constitution, the president, not the Senate, nominates and appoints judges. The Senate has a different role. We must give our advice .

  Orrin Hatch

  Giving, Judging, Advice

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com