Sandra Day O'Connor

• "We don't accomplish anything in this world alone... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads form one to another that creates something.“
• "Most high courts in other nations do not have discretion, such as we enjoy, in selecting the cases that the high court reviews. Our court is virtually alone in the amount of discretion it has.“
• "Yes, I will bring the understanding of a woman to the Court, but I doubt that alone will affect my decisions.“
• "We pay a price when we deprive children of the exposure to the values, principles, and education they need to make them good citizens.“
• "The more education a woman has, the wider the gap between men's and women's earnings for the same work.“
• "I had become increasingly concerned in recent years about the lack of civics education in our nation's schools. In recent years, the schools have stopped teaching it. And it's unfortunate.“
• "Parents should continue to become more involved with their communities, and more involved in their children's education.“
• "Each of us brings to our job, whatever it is, our lifetime of experience and our values.“
• "Having family responsibilities and concerns just has to make you a more understanding person.“
• "It is a measure of the framers' fear that a passing majority might find it expedient to compromise 4th Amendment values that these values were embodied in the Constitution itself.“
• "The freedom to criticize judges and other public officials is necessary to a vibrant democracy. The problem comes when healthy criticism is replaced with more destructive intimidation and sanctions.“
• "It matters enormously to a successful democratic society like ours that we have three branches of government, each with some independence and some control over the other two. That's set out in the Constitution.“
• "The Establishment Clause prohibits government from making adherence to a religion relevant in any way to a person's standing in the political community.“
• "Half the states have stopped making civics and government a requirement for high school. Half.“
• "You have citizens who don't understand how government works and they're kind of soured on it. All they do is criticize. They have no idea that they can make things happen.“
• "We have a complex system of government. You have to teach it to every generation.“
• "Statutes authorizing unreasonable searches were the core concern of the framers of the 4th Amendment.“
• "Young women today often have very little appreciation for the real battles that took place to get women where they are today in this country. I don't know how much history young women today know about those battles.“
• "My hope is that 10 years from now, after I've been across the street at work for a while, they'll all be glad they gave me that wonderful vote.“
• "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.“
• "Having family responsibilities and concerns just has to make you a more understanding person.“
• "It is a measure of the framers' fear that a passing majority might find it expedient to compromise 4th Amendment values that these values were embodied in the Constitution itself.“
• "My hope is that 10 years from now, after I've been across the street at work for a while, they'll all be glad they gave me that wonderful vote.“
• "It is difficult to discern a serious threat to religious liberty from a room of silent, thoughtful schoolchildren.“
• "The power I exert on the court depends on the power of my arguments, not on my gender.“
• "The Establishment Clause prohibits government from making adherence to a religion relevant in any way to a person's standing in the political community.“
• "Society as a whole benefits immeasurably from a climate in which all persons, regardless of race or gender, may have the opportunity to earn respect, responsibility, advancement and remuneration based on ability.“
• "The No Child Left Behind Program was an incentive to the schools to get their kids up to snuff on math and science and reading.“
• "Society as a whole benefits immeasurably from a climate in which all persons, regardless of race or gender, may have the opportunity to earn respect, responsibility, advancement and remuneration based on ability.“
• "It matters enormously to a successful democratic society like ours that we have three branches of government, each with some independence and some control over the other two. That's set out in the Constitution.“
• "The framers of the Constitution were so clear in the federalist papers and elsewhere that they felt an independent judiciary was critical to the success of the nation.“
• "A state of war is not a blank check... when it comes to the rights of the Nation's citizens.“
• "Young women today often have very little appreciation for the real battles that took place to get women where they are today in this country. I don't know how much history young women today know about those battles.“
• "Despite the encouraging and wonderful gains and the changes for women which have occurred in my lifetime, there is still room to advance and to promote correction of the remaining deficiencies and imbalances.“

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