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Explore 167 quotes by Lawyers

Insanity is often the logic of an accurate mind overtasked.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Read The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table at Project Gutenberg

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Topic

Insanity Burnout

Author

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Source

The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table

Medium

Essay

Language

English

Time

1831 1830s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr. "The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table." The New England Magazine. Boston: Joseph T. Buckingham, Nov. 1831 and Feb. 1832.

Current Citation

Holmes, Oliver Wendell. The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table. Dover Publications, 2015.

We have long since made clear that a state of war is not a blank check for the President when it comes to the rights of the Nation's citizens.

Sandra Day O'Connor

Hamdi v. Rumsfeld

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Topic

Rule of law in wartime Rule of law Constitutional law

Author

Sandra Day O'Connor

Source

Hamdi v. Rumsfeld

Medium

Supreme Court opinion Legal opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

2004 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

O'Connor, Sandra Day. United States, Supreme Court. Hamdi et al. v. Rumsfeld. United States Reports, vol. 542, 28 June 2004, pp. 507-599. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/542/507/.

All presumptive evidence of felony should be admitted cautiously; for the law holds, that it is better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent suffer.

William Blackstone

Commentaries on the Laws of England

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Topic

Presumption of innocence Criminal law Legal theory Law

Author

William Blackstone

Source

Commentaries on the Laws of England

Medium

Treatise

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1769 1760s 18th century

Era

Age of Enlightenment

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Law of England: Book the Fourth. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1769, ch. 27.

Current Citation

Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Laws of England: Book IV Of Public Wrongs, edited by David Lemmings. Oxford University Press, 2016, ch. 27.

Campaign promises are-by long democratic tradition-the least binding form of human commitment.

Antonin Scalia

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Topic

Campaign promises Political campaigns Democracy Politics

Author

Antonin Scalia

Medium

Supreme Court opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

2002 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Scalia, Antonin. United States, Supreme Court. Republican Party of Minnesota v. White. United States Reports, vol. 534, 17 June 2002, pp. 765-821. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/536/765/.

Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the Constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, are Constitutional.

John Marshall

McCulloch v. Maryland

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Topic

Constitutional law US Constitution

Author

John Marshall

Source

McCulloch v. Maryland

Medium

Supreme Court opinion Legal opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1819 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Marshall, John. United States, Supreme Court. McCulloch v. Maryland. United States Reports, vol. 17, 5 Mar. 1819, pp. 316-437. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/17/316/.

This is a circus. It's a national disgrace. And from my standpoint as a black American, as far as I'm concerned, it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves.

Clarence Thomas

On the Senate hearings on his nomination to the Supreme Court.

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Topic

American politics

Speaker

Clarence Thomas

Medium

Congressional hearing

Language

English

Time

1991 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Thomas, Clarence. Quoted in The New York Times. 12 Oct. 1991. Originally a statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee. 11 Oct. 1991, Washington, DC, USA.

Whence it is that in our law the goodness of a custom depends upon its having been used time out of mind; or, in the solemnity of our legal phrase, time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary.

William Blackstone

Commentaries on the Laws of England

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Read Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book I at Project Gutenberg

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Topic

Custom and convention Legal theory

Author

William Blackstone

Source

Commentaries on the Laws of England

Medium

Treatise

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1765 1760s 18th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Law of England: Book the First. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1765, introduction, sec. 3.

Current Citation

Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Laws of England: Book I Of the Rights of Persons, edited by David Lemmings. Oxford University Press, 2016, introduction, sec. 3.

I know it when I see it.

Potter Stewart

Jacobellis v. Ohio

On the nature of "obscenity".

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Topic

Obscenity First Amendment Bill of Rights Constitutional law

Author

Potter Stewart

Source

Jacobellis v. Ohio

Medium

Supreme Court opinion Legal opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1964 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Stewart, Potter. United States, Supreme Court. Jacobellis v. Ohio. United States Reports, vol. 378, 22 June 1964, pp. 184-204. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/378/184/.

The people made the Constitution, and the people can unmake it. It is the creature of their will, and lives only by their will.

John Marshall

Cohens v. Virginia

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Topic

US Constitution American politics

Author

John Marshall

Source

Cohens v. Virginia

Medium

Supreme Court opinion Legal opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1821 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Marshall, John. United States, Supreme Court. Cohens v. Virginia. United States Reports, vol. 19, 4 Mar. 1821, pp. 264-448. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/19/264/.

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

Grutter v. Bollinger

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Topic

Affirmative action American politics

Author

Sandra Day O'Connor

Source

Grutter v. Bollinger

Medium

Supreme Court opinion Legal opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

2003 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

O'Connor, Sandra Day. United States, Supreme Court. Grutter v. Bollinger. United States Reports, vol. 539, 23 June 2003, pp. 306-395. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/539/306/.

Prior to any questioning, the person must be warned that he has a right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence against him, and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed.

Earl Warren

Miranda v. Arizona

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Topic

Criminal law

Author

Earl Warren

Source

Miranda v. Arizona

Medium

Supreme Court opinion Legal opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1966 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Warren, Earl. United States, Supreme Court. Miranda v. Arizona. United States Reports, vol. 384, 13 June 1966, pp. 436-545. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/384/436/.

Legislation is powerless to eradicate racial instincts or to abolish distinctions based upon physical differences, and the attempt to do so can only result in accentuating the difficulties of the present situation.

Henry Billings Brown

Plessy v. Ferguson

More information about this quote

Topic

Jim Crow Legal theory

Author

Henry Billings Brown

Source

Plessy v. Ferguson

Medium

Supreme Court opinion Legal opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1896 1890s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Brown, Henry Billings. United States, Supreme Court. Plessy v. Ferguson. United States Reports, vol. 163, 18 May 1896, pp. 537-564. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/163/537/.

Complete moral tolerance is possible only when men have become completely indifferent to each other-that is to say, when society is at an end.

James Fitzjames Stephen

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

More information about this quote

Topic

Tolerance Moral relativism

Author

James Fitzjames Stephen

Source

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1873 1870s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Stephen, James Fitzjames. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. London: Smith, Elder, & Company, 1873, ch. 4.

Current Citation

Stephen, James Fitzjames. Selected Writings of James Fitzjames Stephen: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, edited by Julia Stapleton. Oxford University Press, 2018, ch. 4.

The only prize much cared for by the powerful is power. The prize of the general is not a bigger tent, but command.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

More information about this quote

Topic

Power

Author

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

1913 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. "Law and the Court." Dinner of the Harvard Law Association of New York. 15 Feb. 1913, New York, NY, USA.

Current Citation

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. "Law and the Court." The Essential Holmes: Selections from the Letters, Speeches, Judicial Opinions, and Other Writings of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr, edited by Richard A. Posner. University of Chicago Press, 1997.

Of that freedom one may say that it is the matrix, the indispensable condition, of nearly every other form of freedom.

Benjamin Cardozo

Palko v. Connecticut

On freedom of thought and speech.

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Topic

Freedom of speech and expression Freedom Political theory

Author

Benjamin Cardozo

Source

Palko v. Connecticut

Medium

Supreme Court opinion Legal opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1937 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Cardozo, Benjamin Nathan. United States, Supreme Court. Palko v. Connecticut. United States Reports, vol. 302, 6 Dec. 1937, pp. 319-329. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/302/319/.

They cannot commit treason, nor be outlawed, nor excommunicate, for they have no souls.

Edward Coke

On corporations.

More information about this quote

Topic

Corporations Legal theory Law

Author

Edward Coke

Source

The Case of Sutton's Hospital

Language

English

Time

1658 1650s 17th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Coke, Edward. Case of Sutton's Hospital, 10 Rep 32; 77 Eng Rep 960, 973, KB 1612.

In a democratic society like ours, relief must come through an aroused popular conscience that sears the conscience of the people's representatives.

Felix Frankfurter

Baker v. Carr

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Topic

Political progress Theory of progress Democracy

Author

Felix Frankfurter

Source

Baker v. Carr

Medium

Supreme Court opinion Legal opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1962 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Frankfurter, Felix. Dissenting Opinion. Baker v. Carr. United States Reports, vol. 369, 26 Mar. 1962, pp. 266-349. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/369/186/.

The law embodies the story of a nation's development through many centuries, and it cannot be dealt with as if it contained only the axioms and corollaries of a book of mathematics.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

The Common Law

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More information about this quote

Topic

Nature of law Legal theory Law

Speaker

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Source

The Common Law

Medium

Lecture

Language

English

Time

1880 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. "Lecture 1: Early Forms of Liability." Lowell Lectures. 23 Nov. 1880, Lowell Institute, Lowell, MA, USA.

Current Citation

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. The Common Law. Belknap Press, 2009, lecture 1.

Not only did we play the race card, we dealt it from the bottom of the deck.

Robert Shapiro

On the O.J. Simpson defense team's strategy.

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Topic

OJ Simpson Trial

Speaker

Robert Shapiro

Medium

Interview

Language

English

Time

1995 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Shapiro, Robert. Interviewed by Barbara Walters. ABC News, 3. Oct. 1995.

Right knows no boundaries, and justice no frontiers; the brotherhood of man is not a domestic institution.

Learned Hand

More information about this quote

Topic

Natural law Moral universalism Moral theory Morality

Speaker

Learned Hand

Source

Speeches of Learned Hand

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

1945 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Hand, Learned. "A Pledge of Allegiance." I Am An American Day. 20 May 1945, Central Park, New York City, NY, USA.