John Roberts Justice Quotations

There's a lot of the Midwest and the West in Justice Rehnquist's approach to constitutional law. And by that I mean a recognition that people know pretty well how to govern themselves, that government that is closest to the people is apt to be more responsive to their legitimate concerns and needs.

It is a great thing about having young children, is that they don't really care whether you're the chief justice or whatever, and they do make sure that you have a good perspective on life and what's important.

I would resist the suggestion that I'm racially insensitive, ... I know why the phrase, 'Equal Justice Under Law' is carved in marble above the Supreme Court entrance.

One reason people admire justice Jackson so much is that although he had strong views as attorney general, he recognized when he became a member of the Supreme Court that his job had changed, and he was not the president's lawyer,

... She took the position that she should not comment. Justice O'Connor took the same position. She was asked about a particular case.

I will try to ensure, in the discharge of my responsibilities, that, with the help of my colleagues, I can pass on to my children's generation a charter of self-government as strong and as vibrant as the one that Chief Justice Rehnquist passed on to us.

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.

a judge's judicial work is not influenced...by his sense, sharp or vague, of where justice lies in respect to the great issues of his time.

This was 23 years ago. I was a staff lawyer in the Justice Department. It was the position of the Reagan administration.