John Paul Stevens Quotes & Sayings

Whenever we remove a brick from the wall that was designed to separate religion and government, we increase the risk of religious strife and weaken the foundation of our democracy. — John Paul Stevens

It is not our job to apply laws that have not yet been written. — John Paul Stevens

They may not be conscripted against their will as the foot soldiers in a federal crusade. — John Paul Stevens

Although it may not be a castle, [it is the] functional equivalent of a hotel room, a vacation and retirement home or a hunting and fishing cabin.. — John Paul Stevens

Although NFL teams have common interests such as promoting the NFL brand, they are still separate, profit-making entities, and their interests in licensing team trademarks are not necessarily aligned. — John Paul Stevens

When the commission finds that a pig has entered the parlor, the exercise of its regulatory power does not depend on proof that the pig is obscene. — John Paul Stevens

The graphic emphasis placed on those first lines is rather hard to square with the proposition that the monument expresses no particular religious preference. — John Paul Stevens

[B]y requiring that an execution be relatively painless, we necessarily protect the inmate from enduring any punishment that is comparable to the suffering inflicted on his victim. This trend, while appropriate and required by the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, actually undermines the very premise on which public approval of the retribution rationale is based. — John Paul Stevens

The level of discourse reaching a mailbox simply cannot be limited to that which would be suitable for a sandbox. — John Paul Stevens

To show a 'well-founded fear of persecution', an alien need not prove that it is more likely than not that he or she will be persecuted in his or her home country. — John Paul Stevens

I think this country would be much better off if we did not have capital punishment ... We cannot ignore the fact that in recent years a disturbing number of inmates on death row have been exonerated. — John Paul Stevens

Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority. — John Paul Stevens

Our love cannot be measured, it just is. — John Paul Stevens

Even in high school, a rule that permits only one point of view to be expressed is less likely to produce correct answers than the open discussion of countervailing views. — John Paul Stevens

To make a coverage decision, doesn't one have to make a medical judgment? — John Paul Stevens

At bottom, the court's opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self-government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a strange time to repudiate that common sense. While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics. — John Paul Stevens

A democracy cannot function effectively when its constituent members believe laws are being bought and sold. — John Paul Stevens

The practice of executing such offenders is a relic of the past and is inconsistent with evolving standards of decency in a civilized society. — John Paul Stevens

Every individual who participated in the redistricting process knew that incumbency protection was a critical factor in producing the bizarre lines ... Many of the oddest twists and turns of the Texas districts would never have been created if the Legislature had not been so intent on protecting party and incumbents. — John Paul Stevens

The government must pursue a course of complete neutrality toward religion. — John Paul Stevens

As a matter of constitutional tradition, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we presume that governmental regulation of the content of speech is more likely to interfere with the free exchange of ideas than to encourage it. The interest in encouraging freedom of expression in a democratic society outweighs any theoretical but unproven benefit of censorship. — John Paul Stevens

Admittedly, some high school students (including those who use drugs) are dumb. Most students, however, do not shed their brains at the schoolhouse gate, and most students know dumb advocacy when they see it. The notion that the message on this banner ['Bong Hits 4 Jesus'] would actually persuade either the average student or even the dumbest one to change his or her behavior is most implausible. — John Paul Stevens

One thing, however, is certain. Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law. — John Paul Stevens

Just as the right to speak and the right to refrain from speaking are complementary components of a broader concept of individual freedom, so also the individual's freedom to choose his own creed is the counterpart of his right to refrain from accepting the creed established by the majority. — John Paul Stevens

In the national debate about a serious issue, it is the expression of the minority's viewpoint that most demands the protection of the First Amendment. Whatever the better policy may be, a full and frank discussion of the costs and benefits of the attempt to prohibit the use of marijuana is far wiser than suppression of speech because it is unpopular. — John Paul Stevens

After all, a district judge who gives harsh sentences to Yankees fans and lenient sentences to Red Sox fans would not be acting reasonably even if her procedural rulings were impeccable. — John Paul Stevens