John Roberts Decide Quotations

Like most people, I resist the labels. I have told people, when pressed, that I prefer to be known as a modest judge. And, to me, that means some of the things that you talked about in those other labels. It means an appreciation that the role of the judge is limited; the judge is to decide the cases before them; they're not to legislate; they're not to execute the laws.

I think it's important to adhere to that ... if these questions come before me, either on the court on which I know sit or if I am confirmed on the Supreme Court, ... I need to decide those questions with an open mind on the basis of the arguments presented ... and the precedence of the court.

They apply and decide cases according to the judicial process, not on the basis of promises made earlier to get elected or promises made earlier to get confirmed,

Again, it is the obligation of the courts to decide particular cases, ... Often that means acting on the side of justice as we understand it, enforcing the Bill of Rights, enforcing the equal protection clause.

I know there are people of strongly held views on both sides of the issue ... And I know that the responsibility of a judge confronting this issue is to decide the case according to the rule of law consistent with the precedents, not to take sides in the dispute as a matter of policy, but to decide it according to the law.

The Framers were not the sort of people, having fought a revolution to get the right of self-government, to sit down and say, 'Let's take all the difficult issues before us and let's have the judges decide them.'