“I totally reject and I have rejected throughout my entire career the proposition that, as you say, the end justifies the means or that a judge should decide cases based on a desire to reach a certain outcome.”Tagged: ends justify the means, Law
“Women shouldn’t have to be cookie cutters. One freedom that we should really celebrate as women is that we don’t have to just follow a path that seems like the one that people tell us that we have to follow. And we don’t just have to think what people tell us that we might have to think as women.…”
“A judge needs to have an open mind every step of the way. So as I said, I’ve changed my mind at oral argument, even after reading the briefs. I’ve changed my mind at conference, after consulting with my colleagues. So if I were to just say how I thought I would resolve a case just because I saw the…”Tagged: Thought As Thinking
“The reason we have life tenure, as federal judges, is to be insulated from the pressure that such things like focus groups, or polls, or public opinion, the pressure that it might apply for a court to decide a case a particular way or the other. That’s why we decide it according to the text.”Tagged: Supreme Court, Legal Textualism, Textualism
“Judges are not elected and they have life tenure and can’t be voted out of office. So if judges miscontrue statutes or bend them to the judge’s idea of what would be good public policy then it deprives the people of the chance to express the policies that they want through the democratic process.”
“I don’t have an opinion and have never expressed one about the scope of legislature’s authority to take away felon voting rights. What I said is that there is a history of such provisions and state constitutions and in the federal constitution, but I did not intend and if my words communicated that…”
“I’ve tried to be on a media blackout for the sake of my mental health. But you can’t keep yourself walled off from everything. And I’m aware of the lot of the characatures that are floating around. So I think what I would like to say in response to that question is that, look, I’ve made distinct…”
“I’m not the only person who could do this job, but I was asked. And it would be difficult for anyone. So why should I say someone else should do the difficulty? If the difficulty is the only reason to say no, I should serve my country.”
“It is your Constitution that establishes the rule of law and the judicial independence that is so central to it. The oath that I have solemnly taken tonight means at its core that I will do my job without any fear or favor and that I will do so independently of both the political branches and of my…”
“One of the most important responsibilities of a judge is to put their personal preferences and their personal beliefs aside.”Tagged: Trying to Find Detached Logic