I've always said that at the end of the day, on a legal issue, I think a wise old woman and a wise old man are going to reach the same conclusion.
Sandra Day O'ConnorRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the author's experience with a judicial approach that focused primarily on domestic precedents rather than international ones.
Sandra Day O'Connor's quote highlights a critical perspective on the judicial practices of her time, emphasizing how judges historically looked inward to their own legal systems and precedents rather than considering international laws and cases. This reflection points to a broader conversation about the evolution of legal thinking and the importance of expanding perspectives in the pursuit of justice.
Themes
LawPrecedentsJusticeEducationPerspective
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the need for legal systems to evolve with a global perspective.
More from Sandra Day O'Connor
All quotes →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.
Sandra Day O'ConnorRead
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.
Sandra Day O'ConnorRead
The really expert riders of horses let the horse know immediately who is in control, but then they guide the horse with loose reins and very seldom use the spurs. So it was with our chief [William Rehnquist]. He guided us with loose reins and used the spurs only rarely to get us up to speed with our work.
Sandra Day O'ConnorRead
It is difficult to discern a serious threat to religious liberty from a room of silent, thoughtful schoolchildren.
Sandra Day O'ConnorRead
It was better for me when I was joined at the court by a second woman. When I was there alone, there was too much media focus on the one woman, and the minute we got another woman, that changed.
Sandra Day O'ConnorRead
Similar quotes
But by accident, not by cunning calculation, books, because of their weight and texture, and because of their sweetly token resistance to manipulation, involve our hands and eyes, and then our minds and souls, in a spiritual adventure I would be very sorry for my grandchildren not to know about.
Kurt VonnegutRead
Life is a classroom -- only those who are willing to be lifelong learners will move to the head of the class.
Zig ZiglarRead
I read a lot, I write a lot, and I have conversations with people I think are intelligent and wise.
MontaigneRead
It is easy to get used to the morning news, habituated. But don't. The morning news is yours to alter.
Samantha PowerRead
Dogma is actually the only thing that cannot be separated from education. It IS education. A teacher who is not dogmatic is simply a teacher who is not teaching. There are no uneducated people; only most people are educated wrong. The true task of culture today is not a task of expansion, but of selection-and-rejection. The educationist must find a creed and teach it.
Gilbert K. ChestertonRead
Over a long period of time, the main force in favor of greater equality has been the diffusion of knowledge and skills.
Thomas PikettyRead