Rehnquist William Quotes & Sayings

The rights a man arrogates to himself are related to the duties he imposes on himself, to the tasks to which he feels equal. The great majority of men have no right to existence, but are a misfortune to higher men. — Friedrich Nietzsche

Don't look over people's shoulders. Look in their eyes. Don't talk at your children. Take their faces in your hands and talk to them. Don't make love to a body, make love to a person. — Leo Buscaglia

What many of those who oppose the use of juries in civil trials seem to ignore is that the founders of our Nation considered the right of trial by jury in civil cases an important bulwark against tyranny and corruption, a safeguard too precious to be left to the whim of the sovereign, or, it might be added, to that of the judiciary. — William Rehnquist

In any civilized society the most important task is achieving a proper balance between freedom and order. In wartime, reason and history both suggest that this balance shifts in favor ... of the government's ability to deal with conditions that threaten the national well-being. — William Rehnquist

The Constitution requires that Congress treat similarly situated persons similarly, not that it engages in gestures of superficial equality. — William Rehnquist

The night comes on that knows not morn,
When I shall cease to be all alone,
To live forgotten, and love forlorn. — Alfred Lord Tennyson

The really expert riders of horses let the horse know immediately who is in control, but then they guide the horse with loose reins and very seldom use the spurs. So it was with our chief [William Rehnquist]. He guided us with loose reins and used the spurs only rarely to get us up to speed with our work. — Sandra Day O'Connor

The cross was a divine assignment, not a human accident; it was a God-given obligation, not a human option. — Warren W. Wiersbe

She opened her eyes with a gasp. "I love you." He had tears running a path down his face. He nodded. "Back at ya, pretty child. So, so much. — Debra Anastasia

All of these factors are subsumed to a greater or lesser extent by observing that the Supreme Court is an institution far more dominated by centrifugal forces, pushing toward individuality and independence, than it is by centripetal forces pulling for hierarchical ordering and institutional unity. The well-known checks and balances provided by the framers of the Constitution have supplied the necessary centrifugal force to make the Court independent of Congress and the president. The — William H. Rehnquist

Perhaps you should say there should be mandatory retirement even of members of the court, members of the federal judiciary. I'm sure there can be questions about whether one does as good work when you get into your - you know, I'm 67. — William Rehnquist

A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success. — Elbert Hubbard

It is impossible to build sound constitutional doctrine upon a mistaken understanding of Constitutional history ... The establishment clause has been expressly freighted with Jefferson's misleading metaphor for nearly forty years ... There is simply no historical foundation for the proposition that the framers intended to build a wall of separation ... The recent court decisions are in no way based on either the language or intent of the framers. — William Rehnquist

There's no question that Roberts will vote like William Rehnquist ... If he swings, it will be from right to far right. — Jonathan Turley

Theists give several 'proofs' of the existence of God. These are really just arguments, because if there were convincing proof just one would suffice. — Marcel Conche

It is always possible for the court to overreach its proper bounds and perhaps declare a lot of laws unconstitutional and frustrate the will of the majority in a way that it ought not be frustrated. — William Rehnquist

A father's interest in having a child
perhaps his only child
may be unmatched by any other interest in his life. It is truly surprising that the state must assign a greater value to a mother's decision to cut off a potential human life by abortion than to a father's decision to let it mature into a live child. — William Rehnquist

Conservatives are those who worship dead radicals. — William Rehnquist

I lost so much energy in taxis, planes, hotels, phone calls and interpreters. Now, with the help from my little successes, I do everything in the same place with everyone around me. That's how a good job gets done. — Michel Ocelot

Somewhere "out there," beyond the walls of the courthouse, run currents and tides of public opinion which lap at the courtroom door. — William Rehnquist

He endeavored to collect his thoughts, but did not succeed. At those hours especially when we have sorest need of grasping the sharp realities of life do the threads of though snap off in the brain. — Victor Hugo

If Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist wasn't addicted to the pain-killing drug his doctor prescribed, but instead it was just that the drug had 'established an interrelationship with the body, such that if the drug is removed precipitously, there is a reaction,' you needn't question that his decisions might have been influenced by his drug addiction. — William Lutz

The 'wall of separation between church and state' is a metaphor based on bad history, a metaphor which has proved useless as a guide to judging. It should be frankly and explicitly abandoned. — William Rehnquist

We start with first principles. The Constitution creates a Federal Government of enumerated powers. — William Rehnquist

[I]f we assume a liberty interest but nevertheless say that, even assuming a liberty interest, a state can prohibit it entirely, that would be rather a conundrum. — William Rehnquist

But if people are genuinely happy in their choice of action or lifestyle, we do not need to impose our standards. If they are not harming themselves, if they are not harming others, can we be generous enough to feel joy for them? That is the practice of mudita. — Sharon Salzberg

If you could say of any one individual that the court as an institution is the length and shadow of that individual, surely it would be John Marshall. — William Rehnquist

I realize that it is an unpopular and unhumanitarian position, for which I have been excoriated by 'liberal' colleagues, but I think Plessy v. Ferguson was right and should be re-affirmed, — William Rehnquist

At the heart of the First Amendment is the recognition of the fundamental importance of the free flow of ideas and opinions on matters of public interest and concern. The freedom to speak one's mind is not only an aspect of individual liberty - and thus a good unto itself - but also is essential to the common quest for truth and the vitality of society as a whole. We have therefore been particularly vigilant to ensure that individual expressions of ideas remain free from governmentally imposed sanctions. — William Rehnquist

Pregnancy is of course confined to women, but it is in other ways significantly different from the typical covered disease or disability — William Rehnquist

The Equal Rights Amendment would "turn holy wedlock into holy deadlock." — William Rehnquist

To me, the most amazing the most amazing transformation in my lifetime is not the revolution of the Sixties but the counter revolution of the Seventies, where they managed to put the cuckoo clock back together again — Terence McKenna