Supreme Court Justice

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It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.

Louis Brandeis

New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann

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Brandeis, Louis. Dissenting Opinion. New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann. United States Reports, vol. 285, 21 Mar. 1932, pp. 280-311. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/285/262/.

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That four great nations, flushed with victory and stung with injury stay the hand of vengeance and voluntarily submit their captive enemies to the judgment of the law is one of the most significant tributes that Power has ever paid to Reason.

Robert H. Jackson

Opening statement for the prosecution at Nuremberg.

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Jackson, Robert H. "Opening Statement before the International Military Tribunal." 21 Nov. 1945, International Military Tribunal, Palace of Justice, Nuremberg, Germany.

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The government ought not to use evidence obtained and only obtainable, by a criminal act...for my part I think it a less evil that some criminals could escape than that, the Government should play an ignoble part.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Olmstead v. United States

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Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. United States, Supreme Court. Olmstead v. United States. United States Reports, vol. 277, 4 June 1928, pp. 438-485. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/277/438/.

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Fear of serious injury alone cannot justify suppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burned women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears.

Louis Brandeis

Whitney v. California

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Brandeis, Louis. United States, Supreme Court. Whitney v. California. United States Reports, vol. 274, 16 May 1927, pp. 357-379. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/274/357/.

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But when men have realized that time has upset many fighting faiths, they may come to believe even more than they believe the very foundations of their own conduct that the ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas—that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market, and that truth is the only ground upon which their wishes safely can be carried out. That at any rate, is the theory of our Constitution. It is an experiment, as all life is an experiment.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Abrams v. United States

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Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. United States, Supreme Court. Abrams v. United States. United States Report, vol. 250, 10 Nov. 1919, pp. 616-631. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/250/616/.

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It was framed upon the theory that the peoples of the several states must sink or swim together, and that, in the long run, prosperity and salvation are in union, and not division.

Benjamin Cardozo

Baldwin v. G. A. F. Seelig

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On the U.S. Constitution.

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Cardozo, Benjamin Nathan. United States, Supreme Court. Baldwin v. G. A. F. Seelig. United States Reports, vol. 294, 4 Mar 1935, pp. 511-528. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/294/511/.

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The Court bows to the lessons of experience and the force of better reasoning, recognizing that the process of trial and error, so fruitful in the physical sciences, is appropriate also in the judicial function.

Louis Brandeis

Burnet v. Coronado Oil and Gas Co.

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Brandeis, Louis. Dissenting Opinion. Burnet v. Coronado Oil and Gas Co. United States Reports, vol. 285, 11 Apr. 1932, pp. 393-413. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/285/393/.

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The chilling effect upon the exercise of First Amendment rights may derive from the fact of the prosecution, unaffected by the prospects of its success or failure.

William J. Brennan, Jr.

Dombrowski v. Pfister

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Brennan, William J, Jr. United States, Supreme Court. Dombrowski v. Pfister. United States Reports, vol. 380, 26 Apr. 1965, pp. 479-502. supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/380/479/.

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Is there not a casual connection between the development of these huge, indomitable trusts and the horrible crimes now under investigation?... Is it not irony to speak of the equality of opportunity in a country cursed with their bigness?

Louis Brandeis

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Brandeis, Louis D. Letter to Paul Kellogg. 19 Dec. 1911.

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If you were to say of these men that they are not guilty, it would be as true to say there has been no war, there are no slain, there has been no crime.

Robert H. Jackson

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Jackson, Robert H. Summation for the prosecution. Nuremberg Trials. 26 July 1946, Palace of Justice, Nuremberg, Germany.

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If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.

Robert H. Jackson

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette

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Jackson, Robert H. United States, Supreme Court. West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette. United States Reports, vol. 319, 14 June 1943, pp. 624-671. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/319/624/.

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It is my belief that there are "absolutes" in our Bill of Rights, and that they were put there on purpose by men who knew what words meant, and meant their prohibitions to be "absolutes."

Hugo Black

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Black, Hugo L. James Madison lecture. 17 Feb. 1960, New York University School of Law, New York University, New York City, NY, USA.

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The Fifth Amendment is an old friend and a good friend. It is one of the great landmarks in man's struggle to be free of tyranny, to be decent and civilized. It is our way of escape from the use of torture.

William O. Douglas

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Douglas, William. An Almanac of Liberty. Doubleday & Co., 1954, p. 238.

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That woman's physical structure and the performance of maternal functions place her at a disadvantage in the struggle for subsistence is obvious. This is especially true when the burdens of motherhood are upon her... As healthy mothers are essential to vigorous offspring, the physical wellbeing of woman becomes an object of public interest and care in order to preserve the strength and vigor of the race.

David J. Brewer

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Muller v. Oregon

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Brewer, David J. United States, Supreme Court. Muller v. Oregon. United States Reports, vol. 208, 24 Feb. 1908, pp. 412-423. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/208/412/.

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I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.

Sonia Sotomayor

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Sotomayer, Sonia. Speech at the University of California, Berkeley. Annual Mario G. Olmos Law and Cultural Diversity Lecture. 26 Oct. 2001, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.

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Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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Ginsburg, Ruth Bader. "Ginsburg: Court Needs Another Woman." Interviewed by Joan Biskupic. USA Today, 5 May 2009, usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2009-05-05-ruthginsburg_N.htm.

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So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great good fortune.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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Ginsburg, Ruth Bader. Interview with MAKERS. 12 June 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldFUmU-OZ1U&t=70s

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Certainty generally is illusion, and repose is not the destiny of man.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

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Original Citation

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. "The Path of the Law." Address to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts at the dedication of the new hall of the Boston University School of Law. 8 Jan. 1897, Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA, USA.

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Current Citation

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. "The Path of the Law." 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.

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If we would guide by the light of reason, we must let our minds be bold.

Louis Brandeis

Jay Burns Baking Co. vs. Bryan

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Brandeis, Louis. Dissenting Opinion. Jay Burns Baking Co. v. Bryan. United States Reports, vol. 264, 14 Apr. 1924, pp. 517-534. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/264/504/.

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Maybe you can't override prejudice overnight, but the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, ninety-odd years ago. I believe in gradualism. I also believe that ninety-odd years is pretty gradual.

Thurgood Marshall

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Marshall, Thurgood. "Fighting Back: 1957-1962." Eyes on the Prize, created by Henry Hampton, performances by Thurgood Marshall, season 1, episode 2, Blackside, 1987.

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