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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.

Sandra Day O'Connor

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.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Decision Judging People
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.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Children Example Parent
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

Country People Thinking
Liberty finds no refuge in a jurisprudence of doubt.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Doubt Jurisprudence Liberty
I tried to decide each case based on the law and the Constitution.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Cases Constitution Law
[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.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Decision Past Tough
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

Believe Changed Law Times
(W)e do not count heads before enforcing the First Amendment.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Atheism Firsts Religion
How dare you make my life a felony.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Dare Felony Gay Lgbt
We expect that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Approved Today Use Years
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

Country House Special System World
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

Attention Firsts Media
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.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Government Persistence Reality
It matters enormously to a successful democratic society like ours that we have three branches of government, each with some independence and some control over the other two. Thats set out in the Constitution.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Government Successful Two
Each justice hires their own clerks, and applications are made individually to the justices. It isn’t a group decision.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Clerks Decision Justice
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.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

Equality Opportunity Responsibility

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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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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