Sandra Day OConnor Quotes

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.

I think the important thing about my appointment is not that I will decide cases as a woman, but that I am a woman who will get to decide cases.

Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. No one learns more about a problem than the person at the bottom.

We don't accomplish anything in this world alone.

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.

Unfortunately civility is hard to codify or legislate, but you know it when you see it. It's possible to disagree without being disagreeable.

Be aware that even before you have reached your ultimate professional destination, if you always strive for excellence, you can and should have a substantial impact on the world in which you live.

I have always thought that while it's wonderful to be the first to do something, you don't want to be the last.

I don't know that there are any short cuts to doing a good job.

The whole idea of a public education was to train young people about how our system of government works, so they could be good citizens and be part of it. We're not doing that today.

The fact is that knowledge about the Constitution and the Court is not something that is handed down through the gene pool; every generation has to learn it. And I'm not sure the recent generations have done that good a job of learning about it.

The power I exert on the court depends on the power of the power of my arguments, not my gender

The proper role of the judiciary is one of interpreting and applying the law, not making it.

Apparently a great many people have forgotten that the framers of our Constitution went to such great effort to create an independent judicial branch that would not be subject to retaliation by either the executive branch or the legislative branch because of some decision made by those judges.

We pay a price when we deprive children of the exposure to the values, principles, and education they need to make them good 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.

I think I learned to appreciate and treasure each day, because you don't know how many you're going to be given.

This chance will stand before you only once.

As a citizen, you need to know how to be a part of it, how to express yourself - and not just by voting.

Liberty finds no refuge in a jurisprudence of doubt.

Half the states have stopped making civics and government a requirement for high school. Half.

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.

The Constitution does not protect the sovereignty of States for the benefit of the States or state governments as abstract political entities, or even for the benefit of the public officials governing the States. To the contrary, the Constitution divides authority between federal and state governments for the protection of individuals.

How dare you make my life a felony.