Sandra Day O'Connor Quotes
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It is true that as you have children, there are a good many months when you don't want to be working full-time. I agree that that's an issue.
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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.
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Half the states have stopped making civics and government a requirement for high school. Half.
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There was no hostility at the court when I arrived.
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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.
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What was a problem was the excessive amount of media attention to the appointment of the first woman and everything she did. Everywhere that Sandra went, the press was sure to go. And that got tiresome; it was stressful.
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For students, understanding the separate and unique functions of each branch of government can help them understand how different kinds of government officials can help solve different kinds of problems.
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What the framers of the Constitution tried to achieve when they wrote that Constitution back in the 1700s was an independent federal judiciary. They wanted federal judges to be appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and to serve for good behavior.
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I think people know very little, really, about the court, how it works and its history. And both of those things are important in our country, but they're not things that most citizens know much about.
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In my work a good library is essential. It enables me to learn the background and previous discussions of the various issues I am called upon to decide. It provides the stability and continuity for the rule of law.
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Young women today often have very little appreciation for the real battles that took place to get women where they are today in this country. I don't know how much history young women today know about those battles.
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We don't accomplish anything in this world alone.
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When I went to law school, which after all was back in the dark ages, we never looked beyond our borders for precedents. As a state court judge, it never would have occurred to me to do so, and when I got to the Supreme Court, it was very much the same. We just didn't do it.
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We hold that the reckless disregard for human life implicit in knowingly engaging in criminal activity known to carry a grave risk of death represents a highly culpable mental state that may be taken into account in making a capital sentencing judgment not inevitable, lethal result.
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If parents instill a sense of civic-mindedness - and there is no better way to do that than by example - their children will probably follow.
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How dare you make my life a felony.
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The more education a woman has, the wider the gap between men's and women's earnings for the same work.
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It is difficult to discern a serious threat to religious liberty from a room of silent, thoughtful schoolchildren.
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Yes, I will bring the understanding of a woman to the Court, but I doubt that alone will affect my decisions.
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It's hard to have little children and a job and career at the same time. There is no time left for you as a woman.
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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.
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This chance will stand before you only once.
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Be aware that even before you have reached your ultimate professional destination, if you always strive for excellence, you can and should have a substantial impact on the world in which you live.
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We have a complex system of government. You have to teach it to every generation.