Trivial facts are often the best hints to what is going on.
JOHN ROBERTSTrivial facts are often the best hints to what is going on.
JOHN ROBERTSThe Romans had been able to post their laws on boards in public places, confidant that enough literate people existed to read them; far into the Middle Ages, even kings remained illiterate.
JOHN ROBERTSAn important function of the Supreme Court is to provide guidance, As a lower court judge, I appreciate clear guidance from the Supreme Court.
JOHN ROBERTSSometimes it’s just surreal out there, while you’re running a marathon. People just standing out in the cold, even the rain, cheering for you, blasting music for you. It’s an awesome show of camaraderie and community.
JOHN ROBERTSPeople, for reasons of their own, often fail to do things that would be good for them or good for society. Those failures – joined with the similar failures of others – can readily have a substantial effect on interstate commerce.
JOHN ROBERTSI find that when I tell lawyer jokes to a mixed audience, the lawyers don’t think they’re funny and the non-lawyers don’t think they’re jokes.
JOHN ROBERTSPeople, for reasons of their own, often fail to do things that would be good for them or good for society.
JOHN ROBERTSBy ensuring that no one in government has too much power, the Constitution helps protect ordinary Americans every day against abuse of power by those in authority.
JOHN ROBERTSIf it’s a situation in which the public is being given access, you can’t discriminate against the media and say, as a general matter, that the media don’t have access, because their access rights, of course, correspond with those of the public.
JOHN ROBERTSThe States are separate and independent sovereigns. Sometimes they need to act like it.
JOHN ROBERTSSenator, my answer is that the independence and integrity of the Supreme Court requires that nominees before this committee for a position on that court not forecast, give predictions, give hints, about how they might rule in cases that might come before the Supreme Court,.
JOHN ROBERTSYou don’t doubt that the lobby supporting the enactment of same sex-marriage laws in different states is politically powerful, do you? As far as I can tell, political figures are falling over themselves to endorse your side of the case.
JOHN ROBERTSIf the Constitution says that the little guy should win, the little guy is going to win in court before me, … But if the Constitution says that the big guy should win, well, then the big guy is going to win because my obligation is to the Constitution.
JOHN ROBERTSYou can’t fight for your rights if you don’t know what they are.
JOHN ROBERTSI think judicial temperament is a willingness to step back from your own committed views of the correct jurisprudential approach and evaluate those views in terms of your role as a judge.
JOHN ROBERTSIf it’s a situation in which the public is being given access, you can’t discriminate against the media and say, as a general matter, that the media don’t have access, because their access rights, of course, correspond with those of the public.
JOHN ROBERTS