Historically courts in this country have been insulated. We do not look beyond our borders for precedents.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNORIn order to cultivate a set of leaders with legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry, it is necessary that the path to leadership be visibly open to talented and qualified individuals of every race and ethnicity.
More Sandra Day O'Connor Quotes
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My sense is that jurists from other nations around the world understand that our court occupies a very special place in the American system, and that the court is rather well regarded in comparison, perhaps, to their own.
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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.
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[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.
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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.
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(W)e do not count heads before enforcing the First Amendment.
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I tried to decide each case based on the law and the Constitution.
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I have always thought that while it’s wonderful to be the first to do something, you don’t want to be the last.
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I like to think that the court will continue to be held in high regard by the public. I think it should be.
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The freedom to criticize judges and other public officials is necessary to a vibrant democracy.
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If parents instill a sense of civic-mindedness – and there is no better way to do that than by example – their children will probably follow.
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The unhappy persistence of both the practice and the lingering effects of racial discrimination …is an unfortunate reality…and the government is not disqualified from acting in response to it.
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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.
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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.
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If a State refused to let religious groups use facilities open to others, then it would demonstrate not neutrality but hostility toward religion.
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Having family responsibilities and concerns just has to make you a more understanding person.
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