Judicial Quotes - Page 2

• True freedom requires the rule of law and justice, and a judicial system in which the rights of some are not secured by the denial of rights to others.

  Jonathan Sacks

  Rights, Law, Justice

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• I regret that some on the extreme right have been so critical of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and have adamantly opposed the naming of a successor who shares her judicial philosophy and qualities. And their criticism actually reflects poorly upon them.

  Patrick Leahy

  Regret, Philosophy, Justice

  Source: www.washingtonpost.com

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• 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

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• The notion that Congress can change the meaning given a constitutional provision by the Court is subversive of the function of judicial review; and it is not the less so because the Court promises to allow it only when the Constitution is moved to the left.

  Robert Bork

  Promise, Judicial Review, Constitution

  Robert H. Bork (2009). “The Tempting of America”, p.93, Simon and Schuster

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• It is hard to see Judge Roberts as a judicial activist who would place ideological purity or a particular agenda above or ahead the need for thoughtful legal reasoning.

  Ron Wyden

  Thoughtful, Judging, Agendas

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• Human life is held in much higher esteem, and the taking of it, whether in private quarrel or by judicial procedure, is looked upon much more seriously than it was formerly.

  Elihu Root

  Chance, Life Is, Quarrels

  Elihu Root (1916). “Addresses on International Subjects”

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• Judicial activists are nothing short of radicals in robes--contemptuous of the rule of law, subverting the Constitution at will, and using their public trust to impose their policy preferences on society. In fact, no radical political movement has been more effective in undermining our system of government than the judiciary. And with each Supreme Court term, we hold our collective breath hoping the justices will do no further damage, knowing full well they will disappoint. Such is the nature of judicial tyranny.

  Mark Levin

  Law, Knowing, Government

  Mark R. Levin (2006). “Men in Black: How the Supreme Court Is Destroying America”, p.22, Regnery Publishing

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• If there is in this world a well-attested account, it is that of vampires. Nothing is lacking: official reports, affidavits of well-known people, of surgeons, of priests, of magistrates; the judicial proof is most complete. And with all that, who is there who believes in vampires?

  Jean-Jacques Rousseau

  Believe, People, Vampire

  "The Social Contract". Book by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1762.

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• Men decide far more problems by hate, love, lust, rage, sorrow, joy, hope, fear, illusion or some other inward emotion, than by reality, authority, any legal standard, judicial precedent, or statute.

  Marcus Tullius Cicero

  Hate, Reality, Men

  Marcus Tullius Cicero, Edward William Sutton, Harris Rackham (1942). “Cicero, De Oratore: In Two Volumes”

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• Popularity makes no law invulnerable to invalidation. Americans accept judicial supervision of their democracy - judicial review of popular but possibly unconstitutional statutes - because they know that if the Constitution is truly to constitute the nation, it must trump some majority preferences.

  George Will

  Law, Democracy, Majority

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• Imagine a judicial nominee said 'my experience as a white man makes me better than a Latina woman.' Wouldn't they have to withdraw? New racism is no better than old racism.

  Newt Gingrich

  Men, White, Racism

  FaceBook post by Newt Gingrich from May 27, 2009

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• I acknowledge, in the ordinary course of government, that the exposition of the laws and Constitution devolves upon the judicial. But I beg to know upon what principle it can be contended that any one department draws from the Constitution greater powers than another in marking out the limits of the powers of the several departments.

  James Madison

  Government, Law, Principles

  James Madison, Ralph Ketcham “Selected Writings of James Madison”, Hackett Publishing

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• Our Parliamentary system has simply failed to meet the challenge of judicial activism.

  Stockwell Day

  Challenges, Activism, Parliamentary System

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• Since I have difficulty defining merit and what merit alone means - and in any context, whether it's judicial or otherwise - I accept that different experiences in and of itself, bring merit to the system.

  Sonia Sotomayor

  Mean, Different Experiences, Merit

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• JAG is an acronym for the Judge Advocate General, which is the judicial system of the military.

  Catherine Bell

  Military, Judging, Acronyms

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• I'm not in charge of judgments in Iran. The judicial system in Iran is an independent body of its own, and it follows the laws, and it must operate according to the law.

  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

  Independent, Iran, Law

  "NPR Interviews Mahmoud Ahmadinejad". Interview with Steve Inskeep, www.npr.org. September 24, 2009.

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• If people around the world knew how well people at Guantanamo Bay are treating prisoners, they would not fall prey to the accusations that some in our Chamber are making. They are all receiving judicial review.

  Robin Hayes

  Fall, People, Judicial Review

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• As the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial departments of the United States are co-ordinate, and each equally bound to support the Constitution, it follows that each must in the exercise of its functions be guided by the text of the Constitution according to its own interpretation of it.

  James Madison

  Exercise, Support, United States

  James Madison (1867). “1829-1836”, p.349

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• Constitutions are not designed for metaphysical or logical subtleties, for niceties of expression, for critical propriety, for elaborate shades of meaning, or for the exercise of philosophical acuteness or judicial research. They are instruments of a practical nature, founded on the common business of human life, adapted to common wants, designed for common use, and fitted for common understandings.

  Joseph Story

  Philosophical, Exercise, Expression

  Joseph Story (1851). “Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: With a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States, Before the Adoption of the Constitution”, p.322

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• On any other hypothesis, the delegation of judicial power would annul the authority delegating it; and the concurrence of this department with the others in usurped powers, might subvert forever, and beyond the possible reach of any rightful remedy, the very Constitution which all were instituted to preserve.

  James Madison

  Forever, Judicial Power, Might

  James Madison, Ralph Ketcham “Selected Writings of James Madison”, Hackett Publishing

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• Out of control judicial activism threatens traditional marriage in America.

  Ernest Istook

  America, Activism, Traditional

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• The fundamental problem is that there's no credibility in the judicial system, which is a system that's been completely politicized. This is retaliation and selective repression.

  Leopoldo Lopez

  Fundamentals, Problem, Judicial System

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• Now that judges embrace forcibly starving someone to death, Congress should use its appropriation power to starve the judicial budget.

  Phyllis Schlafly

  Judging, Use, Embrace

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• My judicial philosophy is fidelity to the law.

  Sonia Sotomayor

  Philosophy, Law, Fidelity

  "Sotomayor To Answer Judiciary Panel's Questions". "Morning Edition" with Steve Inskeep, www.npr.org. July 14, 2009.

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• The language of judicial decision is mainly the language of logic. And the logical method and form flatter that longing for certainty and for repose which is in every human mind. But certainty generally is illusion, and repose is not the destiny of man.

  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

  Men, Destiny, Decision

  "The Path of the Law" (1897)

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