54 Earl Warren Quotes

Earl Warren quotes

1. We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.

2. Legislators represent people, not trees or acres. Legislators are elected by voters, not farms or cities or economic interests

3. When an individual is taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom by the authorities and is subjected to questioning...he must be warned prior to any questioning that he has the right to remain silent, that anything he says can be used against him in a court of law, that he has the right to the presence of an attorney, and that if he cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for him prior to any questioning if he so desires.

4. This concept of 'national defense' cannot be deemed an end in itself, justifying any exercise of legislative power designed to promote such a goal. Implicit in the term 'national defense' is the notion of defending those values and ideals which set this Nation apart. For almost two centuries, our country has taken singular pride in the democratic ideals enshrined in its Constitution, and the most cherished of those ideals have found expression in the First Amendment. It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of one of those liberties - the freedom of association - which make the defense of our nation worthwhile.

5. We may not know the whole story in our lifetime.

6. Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile, I caught hell for.

7. I always turn to the sports page first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page nothing but man's failures.

8. I feel that the greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more.

9. I hate banks. They do nothing positive for anybody except take care of themselves. They're first in with their fees and first out when there's trouble.

10. I'm very pleased with each advancing year. It stems back to when I was forty. I was a bit upset about reaching that milestone, but an older friend consoled me. 'Don't complain about growing old- many, many people do not have that privilege.'

11. If it is a mistake of the head and not the heart don't worry about it, that's the way we learn.

12. If Nixon is not forced to turn over tapes of his conversations with the ring of men who were conversing on their violations of the law, then liberty will soon be dead in this nation.

13. In civilized life, law floats in a sea of ethics.

14. In mid-life the man wants to see how irresistible he still is to younger women. How they turn their hearts to stone and more or less commit a murder of their marriage I just don't know, but they do.

15. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.

16. It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.

17. Liberty, not communism, is the most contagious force in the world.

18. Life and liberty can be as much endangered from illegal methods used to convict those thought to be criminals as from the actual criminals themselves.

19. Many people consider the things which government does for them to be social progress, but they consider the things government does for others as socialism.

20. The censor's sword pierces deeply into the heart of free expression.

21. The fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a greater danger to the privacy of the individual.

22. The man of character, sensitive to the meaning of what he is doing, will know how to discover the ethical paths in the maze of possible behavior.

23. The most tragic paradox of our time is to be found in the failure of nation-states to recognize the imperatives of internationalism.

24. The old Court you and I served so long will not be worthy of its traditions if Nixon can twist, turn and fashion. If Nixon gets away with that, then Nixon makes the law as he goes along- not the Congress nor the courts.

25. The police must obey the law while enforcing the law.

26. There is no requirement that police stop a person who enters a police station and states that he wishes to confess a crime or a person who calls the police to offer a confession because volunteered statements of any kind are not barred by the 5th Amendment.

27. To get what you want, STOP doing what isn't working.

28. You sit up there, and you see the whole gamut of human nature. Even if the case being argued involves only a little fellow and $50, it involves justice. That's what is important.

29. He represents the kind of political, economic, and social thinking that I believe we need on the Supreme Court:he has a national name for integrity, uprightness, and courage that, again, I believe we need on the Court.

30. [He's] the biggest damned-fool mistake I ever made.

1. Today, as always, the people, no less than the courts, must remain vigilant to preserve the principals of our Bill of Rights, lest in our desire to be secure we lose our ability to be free.

2. The abhorrence of society to the use of involuntary confessions does not turn alone on their inherent untrustworthiness. It also turns on the deep-rooted feeling that the police must obey the law while enforcing the law; that, in the end, life and liberty can be as much endangered from illegal methods used to convict those thought to be criminals as from the actual criminals themselves.

3. The mere summoning of a witness and compelling him to testify against his will, about his beliefs, expressions or associations, is a measure of governmental interference. And when those forced revelations concern maters that are unorthodox, unpopular, or even hateful to the general public, the reactions in the life of the witness may be disastrous.

4. We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place.

5. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.

6. A republic is not an easy form of government to live under, and when the responsibility of citizenship is evaded, democracy decays and authoritarianism takes over.

7. Citizenship is the right to have rights.

8. Prior to any questioning, the person must be warned that he has a right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence against him and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed.

9. [Apollo 7 was] an expedition of the mind, not of the heart.

10. To summarize: Americans have one of the greatest legal systems, but not a monopoly of the sense of justice, which is universal; nor have we a permanent copyright on the means of securing justice, for it is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.

11. Those who serve upon our juries have maintained a standard of fairness and excellence and demonstrated a vision toward the administration of justice that is a wellspring of inspiration.

12. To separate children from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone.

13. We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal education opportunities? We believe that it does.

14. The only reason that there has been no sabotage or espionage on the part of Japanese-Americans is that they are waiting for the right moment to strike.

15. When the rights of any individual or group are chipped away, the freedom of all erodes.

16. If Nixon is not forced to turn over tapes of his conversations with the ring of men who were conversing on their violations of the law, then liberty will soon be dead in this nation. If Nixon gets away with that, then Nixon makes the law as he goes along - not the Congress nor the courts. The old Court you and I served so long will not be worthy of its traditions if Nixon can twist, turn and fashion the law as he sees fit.

17. The success of any legal system is measured by its fidelity to the universal ideal of justice.

18. Racial discrimination in public education is unconstitutional…All provisions of federal, state or local law requiring or permitting such discrimination must yield to this principle.

19. It is doubtful that congress would pass the Bill of Rights if it were introduced today.

20. Many people consider the things government does for them to be social progress but they regard the things government does for others as socialism.

21. Many agricultural counties are far more important in the life of the State than their population bears to the entire population of the State. It is for this reason that I have never been in favor of restricting their representation in our State Senate to a strictly population basis. It is the same reason that the founding fathers of our country gave balanced representation to the States of the Union, equal representation in one House and proportionate representation based upon population in the other.

22. A society, in the process of moving forward, often appears to be tearing itself apart. Certainly, an age of rapid change, such as ours, produces many paradoxes. But perhaps the most tragic paradox of our time is to be found in the failure of nation-states to recognize the imperatives of internationalism.

23. I believe no one can read the history of our country without realizing that the Good Book and the spirit of the Savior have from the beginning been our guiding geniuses.

24. We are now at the point where we must decide whether we are to honour the concept of a plural society which gains strength through diversity, or whether we are to have bitter fragmentation that will result in perpetual tension and strife.