Quote #8

In the federal confirmation process, a standard question from the judiciary committee is, 'Well, if you're confirmed will you legislate?' And, with a look of horror, the nominee says, 'Oh, I won't legislate.' Well, what about the law of contract and tort; where do they think it came from, the stork?

More from Anthony Kennedy

  1. We must never lose sight of the fact that the law has a moral foundation, and we must never fail to ask ourselves not only what the law is,…
  2. Our system presumes that there are certain principles that are more important than the temper of the times. And you must have a judge who i…
  3. At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human lif…
  4. The fetus, in many cases, dies just as a human adult or child would: It bleeds to death as it is torn from limb from limb. The fetus can be…
  5. Sometimes you don't know if you're Caesar about to cross the Rubicon or Captain Queeg cutting your own tow line.
  6. The Supreme Court of Florida has said that the legislature intended the State's electors to 'participat[e] fully in the federal electoral p…
  7. The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is beside the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to…
  8. The instant case involves liberty of the person both in its spatial and more transcendent dimensions.... Bowers was not correct when it was…

All Anthony Kennedy quotes