Quote #5

No amount of repetition of historical errors in judicial opinions can make the errors true. The 'wall of separation between church and State' is a metaphor based on bad history, a metaphor which has proved useless as a guide to judging. It should be frankly and explicitly abandoned.

More from William Rehnquist

  1. The Supreme Court is an institution far more dominated by centrifugal forces, pushing toward individuality and independence, than it is by …
  2. The considered professional judgment of the Air Force is that the traditional outfitting of personnel in standardized uniforms encourages t…
  3. The Constitution requires that Congress treat similarly situated persons similarly, not that it engage in gestures of superficial equality.
  4. Somewhere 'out there,' beyond the walls of the courthouse, run currents and tides of public opinion which lap at the courtroom door.
  5. This result [:] will daily stand as a veritable sword of Damocles over every succeeding president and his advisers.
  6. [Jury selection] is best based upon seat-of-the-pants instincts, which are undoubtedly crudely stereotypical and may in many cases be hopel…
  7. Pregnancy is of course confined to women, but it is in other ways significantly different from the typical covered disease or disability.
  8. An oft-heard description of the Supreme Court is that it is the ultimate protector in our society of the liberties of the individual. This …

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