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[Court] is an institution that depends on making tough decisions in close cases for reasons that it explains well and that, in the past at least, have proven satisfactory to the public.
More Sandra Day O'Connor Quotes
-
-
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 -
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.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR -
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.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR -
Slaying the dragon of delay is no sport for the short-winded.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR -
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.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR -
How dare you make my life a felony.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR -
I had become increasingly concerned in recent years about the lack of civics education in our nation’s schools. In recent years, the schools have stopped teaching it. And it’s unfortunate.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR -
I like to think that the court will continue to be held in high regard by the public. I think it should be.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR -
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.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR -
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 -
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.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR -
I think most people didn’t want to do court duty.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR -
If statistics are any indication, the system may well be allowing some innocent defendants to be executed.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR -
I tried to decide each case based on the law and the Constitution.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR -
What was a problem was the excessive amount of media attention to the appointment of the first woman and everything she did. Everywhere that Sandra went, the press was sure to go. And that got tiresome; it was stressful.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR