[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'CONNORI tried to decide each case based on the law and the Constitution.
More Sandra Day O'Connor Quotes
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Liberty finds no refuge in a jurisprudence of doubt.
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I do not believe it is the function of the judiciary to step in and change the law because the times have changed. I do well understand the difference between legislating and judging. As a judge, it is not my function to develop public policy.
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I’m a judge. It seemed to me that it was critical to try to take action to stem the criticism and help people understand that in the constitutional framework, it’s terribly important not to have a system of retaliation against decisions people don’t like.
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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 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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It is true that as you have children, there are a good many months when you don’t want to be working full-time. I agree that that’s an issue.
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I think people know very little, really, about the court, how it works and its history. And both of those things are important in our country, but they’re not things that most citizens know much about.
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Despite the encouraging and wonderful gains and the changes for women which have occurred in my lifetime, there is still room to advance and to promote correction of the remaining deficiencies and imbalances.
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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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It is a measure of the framers’ fear that a passing majority might find it expedient to compromise 4th Amendment values that these values were embodied in the Constitution itself.
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I think I learned to appreciate and treasure each day, because you don’t know how many you’re going to be given.
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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.
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We have a complex system of government. You have to teach it to every generation.
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Each justice hires their own clerks, and applications are made individually to the justices. It isn’t a group decision.
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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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