I have always thought that while it’s wonderful to be the first to do something, you don’t want to be the last.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNORUnfortunately civility is hard to codify or legislate, but you know it when you see it. It’s possible to disagree without being disagreeable.
More Sandra Day O'Connor Quotes
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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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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.
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We have a complex system of government. You have to teach it to every generation.
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I finally gave up my little law practice and stayed home for about three years. You have to do what you can to keep the family going. But I wanted to get back to work. So I got another babysitter and went to work as an Assistant Attorney General.
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[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.
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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 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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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.
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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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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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Society as a whole benefits immeasurably from a climate in which all persons, regardless of race or gender, may have the opportunity to earn respect, responsibility, advancement and remuneration based on ability.
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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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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.
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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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