Sandra Day O'Connor

“It is difficult to discern a serious threat to religious liberty from a room of silent, thoughtful schoolchildren.”

“I've always said that at the end of the day, on a legal issue, I think a wise old woman and a wise old man are going to reach the same conclusion.”

“Having family responsibilities and concerns just has to make you a more understanding person.”

“If parents instill a sense of civic-mindedness - and there is no better way to do that than by example - their children will probably follow.”

“A state of war is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation's citizens.”

“There was no hostility at the court when I arrived.”

“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.”

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

“The more education a woman has, the wider the gap between men's and women's earnings for the same work.”

“I sort of thought the framers of the Constitution were talking about the rights of individuals, not corporate entities.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Well, it's a little odd, the path I took, because when I was young, I wanted to be a cattle rancher. That was what I knew and that was what I liked.”

“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.”

“My sense is that jurists from other nations around the world understand that our court occupies a very special place in the American system, and that the court is rather well regarded in comparison, perhaps, to their own.”

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

“My concern was whether I could do the job of a justice well enough to convince the nation that my appointment was the right move.”

“Statutes authorizing unreasonable searches were the core concern of the framers of the 4th Amendment.”

“Justice Ginsburg is a very competent justice, and it is a joy to have her on the court, but particularly for me it is a pleasure to have a second woman on the court.”

“It was better for me when I was joined at the court by a second woman. When I was there alone, there was too much media focus on the one woman, and the minute we got another woman, that changed.”