When I get a case about discrimination, I have to think about people in my own family who suffered discrimination because of their ethnic background or because of religion or because of gender. And I do take that into account.
I assume that those who cling to old beliefs will be able to whisper their thoughts in the recesses of their homes, but if they repeat those views in public, they will risk being labeled as bigots and treated as such by governments, employers, and schools.
I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion.
The First Amendment, I think, is the jewel of our Constitution.
I think that the legitimacy of the court would be undermined in any case if the court made a decision based on its perception of public opinion.
The separation of church and state has been a cornerstone of American democracy for over two hundred years. Getting rid of it was long overdue.
A corporation is simply a form of organization used by human beings to achieve desired ends. Protecting the free-exercise rights of corporations like Hobby Lobby, Conestoga, and Mardel protects the religious liberty of the humans who own and control those companies.
If I’m confirmed, I’ll be myself.
I have been a judge for 15 years and I’ve made up my own mind during all that time.
A judge can’t have any preferred outcome in any particular case. The judge’s only obligation – and it’s a solemn obligation – is to the rule of law.
I’m not any kind of a bigot, I’m not.
If settled means that it cant be re-examined, thats one thing. If settled means that it is a precedent that is entitled to respect then it is a precedent that is protected.
You want us to step in and render a decision based on an assessment of the effects of this institution which is newer than cellphones or the Internet? I mean we – we are not – we do not have the ability to see the future.
A generation earlier, I think that somebody from my background probably would not have felt fully comfortable at a college like Princeton. But, by the time I graduated from high school, things had changed.
This was a time of great intellectual excitement for me. Both college and law school opened up new worlds of ideas.
I had the good fortune to begin my legal career as a law clerk for a judge who really epitomized open-mindedness and fairness. He read the record in detail in every single case that came before me; he insisted on scrupulously following precedents.