There is danger that, if the court does not temper its doctrinaire logic with a little practical wisdom, it will convert the constitutional Bill of Rights into a suicide pact. (Terminiello v. City of Chicago, 1949)
Constitution Quotes
The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure.
Constitutions should consist only of general provisions; the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent, and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of things.
The Constitution of the United States is the result of the collected wisdom of our country.
The Constitution guarantees free speech. It doessn’t guarentee listeners.
The Constitution is not a panacea for every blot upon the public welfare, nor should this Court, ordained as a judicial body, be thought of as a general haven for reform movements.
Americans don’t need black-robed justices divining the meaning of the Constitution. The Constitution was written by our founding fathers as a document that could be understood by ordinary citizens without law degrees from Harvard or Yale à or even in spite of such credentials. We have allowed ourselves to be hoodwinked into believing that we […]
Our Constitution was not intended to be used by… any group to foist its personal religious beliefs on the rest of us.
All the foundations before mentioned, of the federal government, are by the proposed system to be established, in the most clear, strong, positive, unequivocal expressions, of which our language is capable. Magna charta, or any other law, never contained clauses more decisive and emphatic. While the people of these states have sense, they will understand […]
There are limits to power, as those who put their hopes in a constitution always discover.
