“Despite the encouraging and wonderful gains and the changes for women which have occurred in my lifetime, there is still room to advance and to promote correction of the remaining deficiencies and imbalances.”
Women
“Most high courts in other nations do not have discretion, such as we enjoy, in selecting the cases that the high court reviews. Our court is virtually alone in the amount of discretion it has.”
AloneAll Quotes by Sandra Day O'Connor
“The framers of the Constitution were so clear in the federalist papers and elsewhere that they felt an independent judiciary was critical to the success of the nation.”
Success“We pay a price when we deprive children of the exposure to the values, principles, and education they need to make them good citizens.”
Education“My hope is that 10 years from now, after I've been across the street at work for a while, they'll all be glad they gave me that wonderful vote.”
Hope“The power I exert on the court depends on the power of my arguments, not on my gender.”
Power“Parents should continue to become more involved with their communities, and more involved in their children's education.”
Education“Most high courts in other nations do not have discretion, such as we enjoy, in selecting the cases that the high court reviews. Our court is virtually alone in the amount of discretion it has.”
Alone“The Establishment Clause prohibits government from making adherence to a religion relevant in any way to a person's standing in the political community.”
Government“The freedom to criticize judges and other public officials is necessary to a vibrant democracy. The problem comes when healthy criticism is replaced with more destructive intimidation and sanctions.”
Freedom“You have citizens who don't understand how government works and they're kind of soured on it. All they do is criticize. They have no idea that they can make things happen.”
Government“Statutes authorizing unreasonable searches were the core concern of the framers of the 4th Amendment.”
History“Yes, I will bring the understanding of a woman to the Court, but I doubt that alone will affect my decisions.”
Alone“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. That's set out in the Constitution.”
Government“In order to cultivate a set of leaders with legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry, it is necessary that the path to leadership be visibly open to talented and qualified individuals of every race and ethnicity.”
Leadership“A state of war is not a blank check... when it comes to the rights of the Nation's citizens.”
War“Having family responsibilities and concerns just has to make you a more understanding person.”
Family“Half the states have stopped making civics and government a requirement for high school. Half.”
Government“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.”
Respect“It is a measure of the framers' fear that a passing majority might find it expedient to compromise 4th Amendment values that these values were embodied in the Constitution itself.”
Fear“We don't accomplish anything in this world alone... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads form one to another that creates something.”
Alone