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The fact is that knowledge about the Constitution and the Court is not something that is handed down through the gene pool; every generation has to learn it. And I’m not sure the recent generations have done that good a job of learning about it.

Sandra Day O'Connor

Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. No one learns more about a problem than the person at the bottom.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Learning Tasks Time
Each justice hires their own clerks, and applications are made individually to the justices. It isn’t a group decision.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Clerks Decision Justice
I don’t think it’s the court’s perceived role to do some explaining of a political nature.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Nature Political Roles Thinking
And I went off to Stanford, I was pretty young and pretty naive. And I had a professor I really loved, who was himself a lawyer.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Lawyers Professors Young
My hope is that 10 years from now, after I’ve been across the street at work for a while, they’ll all be glad they gave me that wonderful vote.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Hope Politics Wonderful Years
It matters enormously to a successful democratic society like ours that we have three branches of government, each with some independence and some control over the other two. Thats set out in the Constitution.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Government Successful Two
If I stumbled badly in doing the job, I think it would have made life more difficult for women, and that was a great concern of mine and still is.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Great Day Jobs Thinking
I think I learned to appreciate and treasure each day, because you don’t know how many you’re going to be given.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Appreciate Gratitude Thinking
I loved my husband very much, and it was heartbreaking to have him develop Alzheimer’s disease, and to stand by and watch him decline in his ability to take care of himself.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Ability Alzheimer Heartbreaking Husband
[G]overnment endorsement . . . of religion . . . sends a message to nonadherents that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community, and an accompanying message to adherents that they are insiders, favored members of the political community.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Church Community Political
We have a complex system of government. You have to teach it to every generation.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Generations Government Teach
I sort of thought the framers of the Constitution were talking about the rights of individuals, not corporate entities.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Constitution Rights Talking
I’m not on the court anymore, so no use looking for my philosophy. If somebody’s waiting for that, they can wait for another justice.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Justice Philosophy Waiting
Historically courts in this country have been insulated. We do not look beyond our borders for precedents.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Borders Country Looks
I think it’s inevitable that some of the court’s decisions will be found by a segment of the public to be not the right decision or subject to criticism.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Criticism Decision Thinking
I think most people didn’t want to do court duty.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Duty People Thinking Want

The fact is that knowledge about the Constitution and the Court is not something that is handed down through the gene pool; every generation has to learn it. And I’m not sure the recent generations have done that good a job of learning about it.

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The fact is that knowledge about the Constitution and the Court is not something that is handed down through the gene pool; every generation has to learn it. And I’m not sure the recent generations have done that good a job of learning about it.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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