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Arts Education Talking Points
*
Welcome
*
There's a wonderful, lively book which was written in 1934 by the writer and writing
teacher, Brenda Ueland, in which she declares, "Everybody is talented, original and has
something important to say." Wouldn't we all want to be taught by such a person? Isn't
that attitude the cornerstone of a good education?
When we give children an education in the arts, we are telling them we believe they have
a contribution to make and we are giving them the tools to express what it is they have to
share with us. Ms. Ueland's medium was words but she let us know that her book about
wanting to write was really about "art, independence and spirit" and that the word writing
could be substituted for whatever creative endeavor her reader chose.
The painter Georgia O'Keeffe would have appreciated that for she said, "I found that I
could say things with color and shapes that I had no words for." And Jules Combarie,
, said that "music is the art of thinking with sounds."
*
How many children are out there who have something to tell us in ways that they may not
even know themselves because they have not been given a broad range of expressive
skills from which to draw?
The field of education and especially arts education owes a debt of gratitude to the work
of Harvard's Project Zero which committed itself back in the 1960's to the work of
determining the cognitive processes within the doing of the arts.
In 1983, the same year as the landmark education report "A Nation at Risk" was released,
Howard Gardner, Professor of Education and Co-director of the Project, released his book "
Frames of Mind" which challenged the world of education to broaden its understanding
of intelligence to embrace it in 7 different forms. They included the more traditionally
acknowledged logical/mathematical and verbal/linguistic and his newly suggested
intelligences: bodily/kinesthetic; visual/spatial; musical; interpersonal and intrapersonal.
All forms of intelligence lend themselves to artisitic expression but some all but require it
in order to be engaged.
*
Not surprisingly, "A Nation at Risk" which noted a "rising tide of mediocrity" in our
nation's schools and which was largely responsible for jumpstarting so many of the
cutting edge school improvement efforts we have seen since, simultaneously echoed Dr.
Gardner's admonishment to be expansive as we looked at the responsibilities of
education. It declared that "we need time to study the arts and the humanities that enrich
all of life, help maintain civility, and develop a sense of community. Kowledge of the
arts and humanities must be harnessed to science and technology if the latter are to
remain creative and humane."
When we remember that the meaning of the term "to educate" means both to "lead forth"
and to "draw out" we can at once recognize the power of the arts in education for they are
both a body of knowledge to be led to and a means for drawing out every child. By
mixing knowledge with reflection and practical experience, the arts help students
transform information into wisdom.
*
To those of you here today who contributed to the development of the national standards
in the arts - in other words, the body of knowledge and practice to be led to, much thanks
for your leadership and your efforts.
When the standards came out, some reviewers declared them to be unrealistic and
unattainable, and given where the arts in education are today, that sounds logical. But we
can't let today's level of the arts in education be the end of the story. Indeed, Mary
Bikouvaris, a former national teacher of the year said, "Of course they're high -- as befits
a great nation."
And I say, why not dare to dream? Why not dare to imagine that by the time each of this
nation's students graduate from high school they will have a breadth of knowledge in
various art forms and a depth of knowledge and skill in at least one? For those of us who
lived through the sixties, we remember the line, "what's your sign?" Why not make the
new ice-breaker for the new millennium be the more substantive, "What's your art
form?" Don't we all secretly, or not so secretly, wish we were proficient in one or more
of the arts? Wouldn't we love to answer that question with some degree of confidence?
*
We help children in so many ways when we give them training in the arts. Everytime a
student commits a vision to paper or steps forward to perform a role, he or she is living
the difference between passivity and activisim. It is an act of empowerment and an
experience that children should have over and over again until such strength and
confidence becomes routine. Fortified with such leadership experience they will be
prepared for and excited about participating in life's great challenges because all students
must, at least, become leaders of their own lives.
Researcher Frances Rauscher of the University of Wisconsin - Osh Kosh highlights in her
work another reason to give children repeated instruction in the arts -- the development of
their brain power. In increasingly controlled studies, she has been zeroing in on the
causal relationship of learning on a musical keyboard to the development of
spatial-temporal reasoning: the same skills used in math and engineering.
*
Professor of Education James Catterall of UCLA has worked with U.S. Department of
Education statistics and finds provocative links between students who have a significant
involvement in the arts and their academic success. The divergence in academic
achievement between high-arts-involved students and low-arts-involved students was
consistent among low socio-economic students as well as the total school population.
This put the high-arts-involved poorest students much closer to closing the achievement
gap with their higher socio-economic peers than the low or non-arts-involved poorest
students. And the arts involvement relationship spilled beyond academics to community
service -- those students in both the total student population and the low socio-economic
population who were highly involved in the arts valued community service more and
contributed more frequently than their low-arts-involved peers.
new math
results
*
The good news is that more and better research like that I've just mentioned is becoming
available to the education community and I applaud the efforts of the Arts Education
Partnership which detailed what more we need to know and I thank Harvard Project Zero
for reviewing much of the research that's been done in the field. I'll look forward to your
report. I dare say we should find ourselves well beyond the "ground zero" point at which
your founder began thirty years ago.
*
But we can never forget to put down our sophisticated research instruments and just listen
to the voices of children. I thank Professor Susan Stinson who collected the comments of
students who participated in a pilot dance class at the high school level. One particular
girl, who first shied away from taking the class, pronounced that, "I've learned that I can
do a lot more things than I give myself credit for. I've learned I'm a lot more flexible
than I thought I was. I've learned that I can take the lead in making things. I've learned
that I can work well with people that I don't know very well. I've learned that sweat
won't kill you."
She certainly learned a lot more than dance and she essentially outlined the skills that the
business community tells us are needed for the information age workplace: leadership;
analystical skills; teamwork; broad-mindedness; and discipline.
As Rich Gurin, member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities and
CEO of Binney and Smith, Inc. tells us, "If we don't encourage people to develop
creative thinking, imagination and vision when they are young, why would we ever
expect them to exhibit those qualities as adults in their pressure-packed careers?"
Speaking of pressure-packed careers, what does an arts-infused school culture do for
administrators and teachers? Well, from what I know about education, administrators are
happy when their teacher and student attendance levels go up and when disciplinary
actions against students go down - which many newly arts-based schools report
happening.
I heard a story from the A+ education program in North Carolina about the Principal of
Bugg Elementary School. The A+ program is a school improvement design which puts
the arts at the core of learning. As schools convert to the A+ program, all faculty,
including administrators, are required to attend a training institute. This prinicipal, a
fairly shy, retiring type, wasn't so sure he wanted to be there but by the end of the week,
in preparation for his group's presentation on what they had learned, he was scripting,
choreographing, and donning a tutu to make his point. He carried those lessons, though
not the outfit, back to his school and his adminstration style became more open and
accessible. The bad news is he's just retired from that position the good
news
is
he's
found another calling. He's starting a master's degree program in sculpture!
You know, this year marks the 21st year since a broad panel of educators, artists, and
advocates for both worked to produce the report Coming to Our Senses which called for
America to support the arts as "basic education" because the arts "are basic to individual
development since they more than any other subject awaken our senses -- the learning
pores."
10 years ago, The National Endowment for the Arts produced a congressionally
mandated report on the status of arts education called Toward Civilization which told us
whether we had, indeed, come to our senses regarding the arts in education. It found the
arts in schools to be in "triple jeopardy:" 1) the arts were not taken seriously as important
subject matter; 2) arts education programs were focused almost exclusively on production
and performance and rarely included history, critical judgment, or aesthetics; and 3) there
was no common agreement as to what all students should know and be able to do in the
arts.
And where are we today? I'm pleased to say that on the national front, with the arts listed
as a core subject in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act we can say they have been
recognized as important subject matter. You know, my husband tried to get the arts
included in the National Education Goals the first time around and I'm so glad that he, as
President, with the support of Secretary of Education Riley, was able to ensure them their
rightful place in education policy.
I'm pleased to announce that soon we will have the results of the 1997 National
Assessment of Educational Progress, the "Nation's Report Card," in the arts. The arts
were tested for the first time since the 1970's and, as we all know, for better or worse,
what's tested in education is often what gets taught. It is my sincere hope that the testing
of American children's proficiency in the arts will help us see where we can do better and
give all of us the will to do so. The 1997 test results will contribute again as a benchmark
for the results that are released when the arts are tested again in 2007.
As to the second and third points of Toward Civilization, we can thank the Getty
Education Institute for the Arts, among others, for raising our awareness about the many
facets of learning in the arts and take pride in the fact that that broadened approach is
reflected in the National Standards for Arts Education which leads me to the point that
we do now have a statement of consensus for what students should know and be able to
do in the arts.
*
Your leadership has not gone unnoticed. 47 states have adopted new standards for what
students should know and be able to do in dance, music, theater, and the visual arts. And
many states, are considering the national example of developing assessments keyed to
their arts standards.
*
We are off to a good start, but the job will not be done until every child in America has a
square shot at becoming proficient in an understanding and practice of the arts. The job
is not for national organizations alone. The federal Department of Education provides
only 7% of total K-12 education funding in our nation. Education is a local function and
a state responsibility.
I call on students, parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, mayors, businesses, faith
communities, foundations and service organizations to make the arts part of your
education improvement plans. I am pleased to announce that the President's Committee
on the Arts and Humanities in partnership with the Arts Education Partnership and other
supporting sponsors will soon release a report that will help local school communities do
just that. By researching and visiting school districts that are providing their students
with an education in the arts, we hope to offer a glimpse of best practices from the field
as a help to other interested districts.
*
There is now an Arts Education Partnership team in every state to help coordinate state
policy and support for local communities who wish to prepare their students for the 21st
century with an education in the arts.
*
I am pleased today to be able to announce new commitments and new partners to the
effort and to welcome several others to speak specifically about some of their
commitments.
Recent History of Arts Education
1967 Harvard Philosopher Nelson Goodman founds Project Zero to engage in basic research of
human cognition with a special focus on the arts in order to study and improve education
in the arts. Because so little was known about the cognitive activity involved in arts
learning, Goodman felt he was starting at "ground zero" and thus the project got its name.
His studies included logic, epistemology, and aesthetics.
1973 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts establishes the Alliance for Arts
Education Network of state organizations devoted to "the support of policies, practices
and partnerships that ensure the arts are woven into the very fabric of American
education."
1977 The report, "Coming to Our Senses" is published. The work of 25 panelists from diverse
fields (including one Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry) with support from the U.S. Office
of Education and the National Endowment for the Arts (referred to as "an unusual
collaboration"), the report made 96 recommendations in 15 categories. In general, it
called for America to support the arts as "basic education" because the arts "are basic to
individual development since they more than any other subject awaken our senses -- the
learning pores." It called for learning in, about and through the arts, observing that while
"in the 50s, with a nudge from Sputnik, America recognized the central importance of
science education," and in the 60s, "the nation reaffirmed that physical education was
essential," in the 70s, "it is time to acknowledge the power and urgency of arts
education."
1983 Landmark education report, "A Nation at Risk" is issued and notes a "rising tide of
mediocrity" in America's schools. It claims that, "we need time to study the arts and the
humanities that enrich all of life, help maintain civility, and develop a sense of
community. Knowledge of the arts and humanities must be harnessed to science and
technology if the latter are to remain creative and humane."
1983 Harvard Project Zero co-director and Professor of Education, Howard Gardner, writes the
book Frames of Mind introducing the theory of multiple intelligences which broadens the
definition of intelligence to include the traditional verbal/linguistic and logical/
mathematical forms and adds visual/spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, musical, interperonal and
intrapersonal. The theory of multiple intelligences has involved Dr. Gardner in much
education reform activity much of which was spurred by A Nation at Risk.
1988 The National Endowment for the Arts publishes Toward Civilization, a congressionally
mandated report on the status of arts education. It determined that Coming to Our Senses
had not been heeded. It found the arts in schools to be in "triple jeopardy:" 1) the arts
were not taken seriously as important subject matter; 2) arts education programs were
focused almost exclusively on production and performance and rarely included history,
critical judgment, or aesthetics; and 3) there was no common agreement as to what all
students should know and be able to do in the arts.
1989 President Bush and the nation's governors write National Education Goals (Governor
Clinton served as Democratic co-chair). Despite then-Governor Clinton's efforts, the arts
were not included in the list of "core subjects such as math, science, history, geography
and English" found in Goal #3.
1991 The National Education Goals Panel, established to help achieve the goals, holds regional
hearings and arts education advocates worked together to make the case that the goals
could not be adequately achieved without the arts.
1992 The independent Arts Education Partnership Working Group, co-chaired by leaders of the
Kennedy Center and the J.Paul Getty Trust produced the report The Power of the Arts to
Transform Education.
1993 U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley notes that, "the arts, in all their distinct
forms define, in many ways, those qualities that are at the heart of education reform in the
1990's -- creativity, perseverance, a sense of standards, and, above all, a striving for
excellence."
1994 The Goals 2000: Educate America Act is passed with "the arts" added to the list of core
academic subjects by the Clinton Administration. President Clinton signs the bill at an
arts magnet school in San Diego.
1994 The findings from The Power of the Arts to Transform Education are successfully
incorporated into The Improving America's Schools Act (IASA, the reauthorization of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act). The Eisenhower Professional
Development Fund within IASA is broadened by the Clinton Administration to include
teacher training in subjects beyond math and science, including the arts. Arts Education
Leadership funds are requested for the Secretary but not appropriated by Congress.
1994 National Standards for Arts Education, developed by the Consortium of National Arts
Education Associations with funding received earlier from the U.S. Department of
Education, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the
Humanities, are completed. It reflects a national consensus of what students should know
and be able to do in the arts. Funding began during Bush Administration.
1994 The first phase of the 1997 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in the
arts is completed -- that of determining what and how to test. Fortuitously, the national
standards for arts education and the NAEP consensus framework were developed
simultaneously and a common vision for arts education on the national level was created.
1995 The Goals 2000 Arts Education Partnership, now called the Arts Education Partnership,
is established through a cooperative agreement between the National Endowment for the
Arts and the U.S. Department of Education. The Council of Chief State School Officers
(CCSSO) and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies co-manage the Partnership
which is housed at CCSSO, meets quarterly and is composed of more than 140
education, arts, business, philanthropic and government organizations. It demostrates and
promotes the essential role of arts education in enabling all students to succeed in school,
life and work.
1995- Administration activity has largely taken place through the Arts Education Partnership
1999
which has produced reports on needs for research and early childhood learning through
the arts. It has produced an advocacy video featuring actress Meryl Streep. A partnership
team including representatives from state departments of education, state arts councils,
and state alliances for arts education works in every state promoting arts education.
The Administration also supports, through the Department of Education and the National
Endowment for the Arts, ArtsEdge, an electronic network and storehouse of information.
It is housed at the Kennedy Center's Education Department.
1997 The U.S. Department of Education releases a "Guide to Arts Education and School
Improvement Resources for Local and State Leaders" which outlines how various general
education funding programs can be used to support arts education. The publication can
be found at www.ed.gov/pubs/ArtsEd (the U.S. Department of Education's web site) or
from 1-877-4ED-PUBS.
1997-
1999 The Kennedy Center's Alliance for Arts Education Network promotes the "Creative
Ticket for Student Success campaign to raise awareness about the benefits of arts
education.
1998 First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, hosts an event at the White House to recognize the
power of the arts to transform education and to make a call to action to support the arts in
schools. Members of the Arts Education Partnership make up the audience. Speech can
be found at <http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/First_Lady/htmi/generalspeches/
1998/19980917.html>
1998 In November, Secretary of Education Riley releases the results from the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP -- see 1994). The NAEP is an ongoing
program of the U.S. Department of Education/National Center for Education Statistics
which measures only academic subjects. Including the arts was another nod to their
academic integrity. It was the first time the arts had been tested in almost 20 years. The
arts are scheduled to be included again in NAEP in the 2007 tests (results out in 2008) so
the 1998 results will be an important baseline against which to measure our progress.
8th grade students across America were evaluated regarding their abilities to respond to,
perform and create within the art forms of music, visual art (random sample for scientific
objectivity) and theater (targetted to students who had had some instruction). There were
too few students who are taught dance in schools to have a valid random sample, but
some insights into students and their dance ability was learned from the field test done a
year earlier.
Student scores were not impressive (especially on creativity: being able to express own
veiwpoint) but students who had received more instruction did better, showing that the
arts are not the purview of a gifted few but that they can be taught (instruction helped in
all areas including creativity).
The format of the test was groundbreaking because, in addition to paper/pencil type
testing, it used "authentic" assessment techniques such as having the students create
phrases of music or respond to the acting in a film clip via CD Rom.
This report also provided a snapshot of how many students had had actual instruction in
the arts in school and how many schools are required to follow curricula in the various art
forms.
1999 In March, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton releases the report "Gaining the Arts
Advantage: Lessons Learned from School Districts Which Value Arts Education." The
report is the first national study to examine arts education on the school district level. It
is the culmination of a two year process and examines how various school districts have
made sustained attempts to reach all students in all schools with arts education. The
report, is a valuable resource for educators in other districts who are interested in
strategies for providing arts education developed by their peers in similar situations.
The study represents ninety-one districts in forty-two states from Anchorage to Miami,
from Westbrook, Maine to Redondo Beach, California and from Missoula County,
Montana to Spring Branch, Texas. The districts spend anywhere from $3,800 to $15,000
per student. They may have from three to 300 school buildings, and from 1,800 to
340,000 students. Of the ninety-one districts, eighty-three are briefly profiled and the
other eight are profiled in longer case studies because they received a site visit by one of
the research teams. The teams were made up of superintendents from other districts. The
report was produced by the Arts Education Partnership and the President's Committee on
the Arts and Humanities along with some corporate and foundation sponsors, the
National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Department of Education and the White
House Millennium Council. It is available at www.pcah.gov.
525. Law and Lawyers
344
tr. Peter Motteux and John Ozell.
too severe, seldom executed. BENJAMIN
345
14. We do not get good laws to restrain
FRANKLIN, Poor Richard's Almanack
bad people. We get good people to restrain
(1732-57).
own judges obey the laws. Others sense
bad laws. C. K. CHESTERTON, "Thoughts
28. Law cannot persuade where it cannot
their own laws within them. HERMANN
Around Koepenick," All Things Considered
punish. THOMAS FULLER, M.D., Gnomologia
HESSE, Demian (1919), 3, tr. Michael Roloff
(1908).
(1732), 3148.
and Michael Lebeck.
15. The science of legislation is like that
29. The more laws, the more offenders.
41. The law is the witness and external
of medicine in one respect: that it is far
THOMAS FULLER, M.D., Gnomologia (1732),
deposit of our moral life. Its history is the
more easy to point out what will do harm
4663.
history of the moral development of the
than what will do good. CHARLES CALEB
30. The law is what it is-a majestic
race. OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR.,
COLTON, Lacon (1825), 1.529.
edifice, sheltering all of us, each stone of
speech, Boston, Jan. 8, 1897.
16. Lawyers and painters can soon
which rests on another. JOHN GALS-
42. Great cases like hard cases make bad
change white to black. DANISH PROVERB.
WORTHY, Justice (1910), 2.
law. OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR., opin-
17. If there were no bad people there
31. An unjust law is itself a species of vio-
ion, Northern Securities Company v. United
would be no good lawyers. CHARLES DICK-
lence. Arrest for its breach is more so. MO-
States (1904).
ENS, The Old Curiosity Shop (1840), 56.
HANDAS K. GANDHI, Non-Violence in Peace
43. There are not enough jails, not
18. Anyone who takes it upon himself, on
and War (1948), 2.150.
enough policemen, not enough courts to en-
his private authority, to break a bad law,
32. The more laws, the less justice.
force a law not supported by the people.
thereby authorizes everyone else to break
GERMAN PROVERB.
HUBERT H. HUMPHREY, speech, Williams-
the good ones. DENIS DIDEROT, Supplement
33. There's no better way of exercising
burg, Va., May 1, 1965.
to Bougainville's "Voyage" (1796).
the imagination than the study of law. No
44. Laws and institutions must go hand
19. No matter whether th' constitution
poet ever interpreted nature as freely as a
in hand with the progress of the human
follows th' flag or not, th' supreme coort fol-
lawyer interprets truth. JEAN GIRAUDOUX,
mind. THOMAS JEFFERSON, letter to Samuel
lows th' iliction returns. FINLEY PETER
Tiger at the Gates (1935), 2, tr. Christopher
Kercheval, July 12, 1816.
DUNNE, "The Supreme Court's Decisions,"
Fry.
45. The law is the last result of human
Mr. Dooley's Opinions (1901).
34. You're an attorney. It's your duty to
wisdom acting upon human experience for
20. People say law but they mean wealth.
lie, conceal and distort everything, and slan-
the benefit of the public. SAMUEL JOHNSON,
EMERSON, Journals, 1841.
der everybody. JEAN GIRAUDOUX, The Mad-
quoted in Hester Lynch Piozzi's Anecdotes
21. Our statute is a currency which we
woman of Chaillot (1945), 2, adapted by
of Samuel Johnson (1786).
stamp with our own portrait. EMERSON,
Maurice Valency.
46. Our nation is founded on the princi-
"Politics," Essays: Second Series (1844).
35. Laws grind the poor, and rich men
ple that observance of the law is the eternal
22. A just cause needs no interpreting. /
rule the law. OLIVER GOLDSMITH, The Trav-
safeguard of liberty and defiance of the law
It carries its own case. But the unjust argu-
eller (1765), 386.
is the surest road to tyranny. JOHN F.
ment / since it is sick, needs clever medi-
36. Every new time will give its law.
KENNEDY, television address appealing for
cine. EURIPIDES, The Phoenician Women
MAXIM CORKY, The Lower Depths (1903),
peaceful compliance with Federal court or
(c. 411-409 B.C.), tr. Elizabeth Wyckoff.
4, tr. Alexander Bakshy.
der admitting James Meredith to University
23. Give a wise man an honest brief to
37. Laws are to govern all alike - those
of Mississippi, Sept. 30, 1962.
plead / and his eloquence is no remarkable
opposed as well as those who favor them. I
47. Morality cannot be legislated, but
achievement. EURIPIDES, The Bacchae
know of no method to repeal of bad or ob-
behavior can be regulated. Judicial decree:
(c. 405 B.C.), tr. William Arrowsmith.
noxious laws so effective as their stringent
may not change the heart, but they can re
24. If there isn't a law, there will be.
execution. ULYSSES S. GRANT, first Inaugural
strain the heartless. MARTIN LUTHER KING
HAROLD FABER, The New York Times
Address March 1869
JR., Strength to Love (1963), 3.3.
Magazine, March 17, 1968.
38. There is something monstrous in
48. Many laws as certainly make bac
25. Fragile as reason is and limited as law
commands couched in invented and un-
men, as bad men make many laws. WALTER
is as the institutionalized medium of reason,
familiar language; an alien master is the
SAVAGE LANDOR, "Diogenes and Plato,'
that's all we have standing between us and
worst of all. The language of the law must
Imaginary Conversations (1824-53).
the tyranny of mere will and the cruelty of
not be foreign to the ears of those who are to
49. Ignore what a man desires and you
unbridled, undisciplined feeling. FELIX
obey it. LEARNED HAND, speech, Washing-
ignore the very source of his power; rur
FRANKFURTER, Felix Frankfurter Remi-
ton, D.C., May 11, 1929.
against the grain of a nation's genius and se
nisces (1960), 19.
39. The people should fight for their law
where you get with your laws. WALTEI
26. God works wonders now and then: /
as for their city wall. HERACLITUS, Frag-
LIPPMANN, "The Making of Creeds," 1
Behold! a lawyer, an honest man! BENJAMIN
ments (c. 500 B.C.), 82, tr. Philip Wheel-
Preface to Politics (1914).
FRANKLIN, Poor Richard's Almanack
wright.
50. No law is quite appropriate for all
(1732-57).
40. Those who are too lazy and comfort-
LIVY, Ab Urbe Condita (c. 29 B.C.), 34.3.
27. Laws too gentle are seldom obeyed;
able to think for themselves and be their
51. Wherever law ends, tyranny begins
JOHN LOCKE, Two Treatises on Governmen
(1690), 2.
134. LAW
328
329
42 The best public measures are seldom adopted
50 It is of course true that any kind of judicial
torts
from previous wisdom, but forc'd by the occasion.
legislation is objectionable on the score of the lim-
cise a
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, in his Autobiography,
ited interests which a Court can represent, yet there
previ
1798.
are wrongs which in fact legislatures cannot be
whic
brought to take an interest in, at least not until the
43 The law of society is, each for all, as well as all
Courts have acted.
for each.
LEARNED HAND, in a letter to Louis D. Brandeis,
HENRY GEORGE, Progress and Poverty, 1879.
January 22, 1919.
57 T
44 I know no method to secure the repeal of bad
51 If the prosecution of crime is to be conducted
or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent
with so little regard for that protection which cen-
agree
execution.
with
turies of English law have given to the individual,
ions
ULYSSES S. GRANT, in his inaugural address,
we are indeed at the dawn of a new era; and much
March 4, 1869.
that we have deemed vital to our liberties, is a
delusion.
45 I am the law.
LEARNED HAND, in an opinion reversing a lower
FRANK HAGUE, major of Jersey City, New
court decision in United States V. Di Re, in
58 C
Jersey, quoted in the New York Times,
which arrest and evidence were illegally obtained,
cases
November 11, 1937.
1947.
46 When any people are ruled by laws in framing
52 There is in this-country no superior, dominant,
59 E
which they have no part, that are to bind them to
ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here. Our
all intents and purposes, without, in the same man-
Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor
ner, binding the legislators themselves, they are, in
tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil
60 M
the strictest sense, slaves; and the government, with
rights, all citizens are equal before the law.
obvice
respect to them, is despotic.
JOHN MARSHALL HARLAN, in a dissenting
ALEXANDER HAMILTON, The Farmer Refuted,
Supreme Court opinion, Plessy V. Ferguson, 1896.
1775.
53 It is only rogues who feel the restraint of law.
47 It is essential to the idea of a law that it be
attended with a sanction; or, in other words, a pen-
JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND, "Perfect Liberty,"
61 V
Gold-Foil, 1859.
alty or punishment for disobedience.
victic
ALEXANDER HAMILTON, The Federalist,
54 Come, you of the law, who can talk, if you
the t
1787-1788.
please,
Till the man in the moon will allow it's a
48 Laws are a dead letter without courts to ex-
cheese.
pound and define their true meaning and operation.
62 It
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, SR., "Lines Recited
when
Ibid.
at the Berkshire Jubilee," August 23, 1844.
admi
49 It will be of little avail to the people that the
deatl
55 The life of the law has not been logic; it has
laws are made by men of their own choice, if the
been experience.
laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or
so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR., The Common
Law, 1881.
they be repealed or revised before they are promul-
gated, or undergo such incessant changes that no
56 Great cases like hard cases make bad law. For
63 P
man, who knows what the law is today, can guess
great cases are called great not by reason of their
to de
what it will be tomorrow.
real importance in shaping the law of the future but
ALEXANDER HAMILTON OR JAMES MADISON,
because of some accident of immediate overwhelm-
The Federalist, 1787-1788.
ing interest which appeals to the feelings and dis-
329
134. LAW
torts the judgment. These immediate interests exer-
64 If the law is upheld only by government offi-
cise a kind of hydraulic pressure which makes what
cials, then all law is at an end.
previously was clear seem doubtful, and before
HERBERT HOOVER, in a message to Congress,
which even well-settled principles of law will bend.
1929.
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR., in a dissenting
Supreme Court opinion in Northern Securities
65 Nearly every lawsuit is an insult to the intelli-
Company V. United States, 1904.
gence of both plaintiff and defendant.
57 The case is decided upon an economic theory.
EDGAR WATSON HOWE, Sinner Sermons, 1926.
I strongly believe that my agreement or dis-
66 Laws that do not embody public opinion can
agreement [with that theory] has nothing to do
never be enforced.
with the right of a majority to embody their opin-
ions in law.
ELBERT HUBBARD, The Roycroft Dictionary and
Book of Epigrams, 1923.
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR., dissenting
Supreme Court opinion, Lochner V. New York,
67 Law: 1. A scheme for protecting the parasite
1905.
and prolonging the life of the rogue, averting the
58 General propositions do not decide concrete
natural consequences which would otherwise come
to them. 2. The crystallization of public opinion.
cases.
Ibid.
Ibid.
59 Every opinion tends to become a law.
68 Lawyer: 1. A person who takes this from that,
with the result that That hath not where to lay his
Ibid.
head. 2. An unnecessary evil. 3. The only man in
60 May God twist my tripes, if I string out the
whom ignorance of the law is not punished.
obvious for the delectation of fools!
Ibid.
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR., on being
requested to deliver longer opinions, 1911,
69 Law is what a judge dispenses. The judge, how-
quoted in Catherine Drinker Bowen, Yankee from
ever, is no representative of the average man's com-
Olympus, 1944.
mon sense. A certain remoteness from the experi-
61 While there still is doubt, while opposite con-
ences of everyday life and a certain rigidity of
victions still keep a battlefront against each other,
viewpoint are essential to his role as judge.
the time for law has not come.
GERHART HUSSERL, legal scholar, writing in the
Journal of Social Philosophy, July, 1940.
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR., in a speech in
New York City, February 15, 1913.
70 Laws spring from the instinct of self-preserva-
62 It is our duty to declare lynch law as little valid
tion.
when practiced by a regularly drawn jury as when
ROBERT G. INGERSOLL, "Some Mistakes of
administered by one elected by a mob intent on
Moses," 1879.
death.
71 Young lawyers attend the courts, not because
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR., in a dissenting
they have business there but because they have no
Supreme Court opinion, Frank V. Mangum,
business anywhere else.
1914. (This was the appeal of the conviction of
Leo Frank for murder.)
WASHINGTON IRVING, Salmagundi, 1807-1808.
63 Pretty much all law consists in forbidding men
72 I did believe, and ever will believe, that just
to do some things that they want to do.
laws can make no distinction of privilege between
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR., in a dissenting
the rich and poor, and that when men of high
Supreme Court opinion, Adkins V. Children's
standing attempt to trample upon the rights of the
Hospital, 1922.
weak, they are the fittest objects for example and
134. LAW
330
331
punishment. In general, the great can protect them-
THOMAS JEFFERSON, in a letter to John B.
85
selves, but the poor and humble require the arm and
Colvin, September 20, 1810.
rec
shield of the law.
79 This corporeal globe, and everything upon it,
ANDREW JACKSON, in a letter to John Quincy
belong to its present corporeal inhabitants, during
Adams, August 26, 1821.
their generation. They alone have a right to direct
86
what is the concern of themselves alone, and to
to
73 Were it made a question, whether no law, as
declare the law of that direction.
ma
among the savage Americans, or too much law, as
bei
among the civilized Europeans, submits man to the
THOMAS JEFFERSON, in a letter to Samuel
en
greatest evil, one who has seen both conditions of
Kercheval, July 12, 1816.
existence would pronounce it to be the last; and
80 Laws are made for men of ordinary understand-
that the sheep are happier of themselves, than under
ing, and should therefore be construed by the ordi-
the care of wolves.
nary rules of common sense. Their meaning is not
87
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Notes on the State of
to be sought for in metaphysical subleties, which
em
Virginia, 1784.
may make anything mean everything or nothing, at
of
pleasure.
ap
74 Ignorance of the law is no excuse, in any coun-
vic
try. If it were, the laws would lose their effect,
THOMAS JEFFERSON, in a letter to William
Johnson, June 12, 1823.
because it can be always pretended.
THOMAS JEFFERSON, in a letter to André
81 Every form of bigotry can be found in ample
supply in the legal system of our country. It would
88
Limozin, December 22, 1787.
seem that Justice (usually depicted as a woman) is
ca
75 The execution of the laws is more important
indeed blind to racism, sexism, war, and poverty.
rej
than the making them.
FLORYNCE R. KENNEDY, quoted in Robin
THOMAS JEFFERSON, in a letter to the Abbé
Morgan, Sisterhood Is Powerful, 1970.
Arnoud, July 19, 1789.
89
82 Laws are felt only when the individual comes
tra
76 The study of the law is useful in a variety of
into conflict with them.
points of view. It qualifies a man to be useful to
SUZANNE LAFOLLETTE, "The Beginnings of
himself, to his neighbors and to the public. It is the
Emancipation," Concerning Women, 1926.
90
most certain stepping-stone to preferment in the
sti
political line.
83 Never, never, never, on cross-examination ask a
witness a question you don't already know the an-
THOMAS JEFFERSON, in a letter to Thomas Mann
swer to, was a tenet I absorbed with my baby-food.
Randolph, May 30, 1790.
Do it, and you'll often get an answer you don't
91
77 I consider all the encroachments made on the
want, an answer that might wreck your case.
bu
Constitution heretofore as nothing, as mere retail
HARPER LEE, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960.
stuff, compared with the wholesale doctrine that
there is a Common Law in force in the United
84 Let me not be understood as saying that there
States, of which, and of all the cases within its
are no bad laws, or that grievances may not arise for
provisions, their courts have cognizance.
the redress of which no legal provisions have been
92
made. I mean to say no such thing. But I do mean
be
THOMAS JEFFERSON, in a letter to Charles
to say that although bad laws, if they exist, should
it
Pinckney, October, 1799.
be repealed as soon as possible, still, while they
78 A strict observance of the written laws is doubt-
continue in force, for the sake of example they
less one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it
should be religiously observed.
is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-
93
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, in the address "The
preservation, of saving our country when in danger,
bi
Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions,"
are of higher obligation.
Springfield, Illinois, January 27, 1837.
325
134. LAW
34 Lord, help my poor soul
38 Death, the only immortal who treats us all
EDGAR P.OE, died October 7 1849
alike, whose pity and whose peace and whose
refuge are for all the soiled and the pure, the
35: What is the answer! In that case what is the
rich and the poor, the loved: and the unloved
question!
MARK TWAIN, in a memorandum written
GERTRUDE STEIN responding to the question
before his death April 21; 1910
What is the answer?" put to her by Alice B
Toklas, July 27, 1946.
39 Tis well
GEORGE W ASHINGTON, after being told his
36 Folks are better than angels.
secretary understood Washington's burial
Attributed to Edward Thompson Taylor, a
instructions, December 14, 1799. Washington
Boston clergyman, responding to assurances
then said to this doctor, Indie hard, but I am
from friends that he would soon be with the
not afraid to go.").
angels, April 5; 1871
40 I have made many mistakes, but I love my,
37, I did not know we had ever quarreled Aunt
country, and have labored, for the youth of my
HENRY DAVID THOREAU responding to his
country, and I trust no precept of mine has
Aunt Louisa, when asked whether hè had
taught any youth to sin
made his peace with God, May 6, 1862: (A
NOAH WEBSTER, died May 28, 1843
few days before: when a visitor said to
Thoreau that he seemed "so near the brink of
41 If I should have any property at the time of
the dark river, that [I] almost wonder how the
my death, which I most seriously doubt will be
opposite shore may: appear to you Thoreau
the case, I bequeath and devise it to my beloved
answered, "One world at a time: Edwards
Wagenknecht, in Henry David Thoreau,
wife:
What Manner of. Man? 1981 reported that
JOSEPH W ILSON, quoted in: Sam J Ervin, Jr
Thoreau' final words, to his sister, Sophie,
Humor of a: Country Lawyer, 1983
were "Now comes good sailing
3 Law is merely the expression of the will of the
strongest for the time being, and therefore laws
134. LAW
have no fixity, but shift from generation to genera-
See also CIVIL RIGHTS; CRIME; EQUALITY;
tion.
JUSTICE; PUNISHMENT
BROOKS ADAMS, The Law of Civilization and
Decay, 1895.
I Three Philadelphia lawyers are a match for the
4 The law, in all vicissitudes of government, fluc-
Devil.
tuations of the passions or flights of enthusiasm,
will preserve a steady, undeviating course; it will
Popular saying, early nineteenth century.
not bend to the uncertain wishes, imaginations and
2 I. will not counsel or maintain any suit or pro-
wanton tempers of men.
On the one hand it is
ceeding which shall appear to me to be unjust, nor
inexorable to the cries and lamentations of the pris-
any defense except such as I believe to be honestly
oners. On the other it is deaf, deaf as an adder to
debatable under the law of the land.
the clamors of the populace.
American Bar Association, model oath for
JOHN ADAMS, defending the British soldiers in
candidates seeking admission to the bar, C. 1925.
the Boston Massacre trials, December 4, 1770.
134. LAW
326
327
5 The sober second thought of the people shall be
15 Oath, n. In law, a solemn appeal to the Deity,
24 Juri
law.
made binding upon the conscience by a penalty for
the sci
FISHER AMES, in a speech in Congress, 1788.
perjury.
F
Ibid.
11
6 One thing I supplicate your majesty: that you
will give orders, under a great penalty, that no
16 The term Rule of Law, like the phrases: "Love
25 I do
bachelors of law should be allowed to come here [to
of God" and "Brotherhood of Man," is a short and
to kno
the New World]; for not only are they bad them-
simple expression of one of the few most sublime
F
selves, but they also make and contrive a thousand
concepts that the mind and spirit of man has yet
V
iniquities.
achieved.
A
VASCO NUÑEZ DE BALBOA, to King Ferdinand V
GEORGE H. BOLDT, in a speech on Law Day
26 On
of Spain, 1513.
USA, Tacoma, Washington, May 1, 1958.
(
7 We bury men when they are dead, but we try to
17 The law is not an end in itself, nor does it
=
embalm the dead body of laws.
It usually takes
provide ends. It is preeminently a means to serve
a
a hundred years to make a law; and then, after it
what we think is right.
has done its work, it usually takes a hundred years
27 Fre
to get rid of it.
WILLIAM J. BRENNAN, in a Supreme Court
disresp
opinion, Roth v. United States, 1957.
law. It
HENRY WARD BEECHER, Life Thoughts, 1858.
the law
18 Law cannot stand aside from the social changes
8 Laws and institutions are constantly tending to
to its \
around it.
gravitate. Like clocks, they must be occasionally
(
cleansed, and wound up, and set to true time.
Ibid.
I
Ibid.
19 No people is shrewder than the American in
28 The
9 Laws are not masters but servants, and he rules
perceiving when a law works ill, nor prompter in
tained
repealing it.
them who obeys them.
been et
JAMES BRYCE, The American Commonwealth,
HENRY WARD BEECHER, Proverbs from
power.
1888.
Plymouth Pulpit, 1870.
7
10 Court Fool, n. The plaintiff.
20 Law is whatever is boldly asserted and plausibly
29 Th
maintained.
AMBROSE BIERCE, The Devil's Dictionary, 1906.
always
AARON BURR, quoted in James Parton, The Life
(
11 Lawful, adj. Compatible with the will of a
and Times of Aaron Burr, 1857.
judge having jurisdiction.
30 Ou
21 No written law has ever been more binding than
Ibid.
nor in
unwritten custom supported by popular opinion.
and or
12 Lawyer, n. One skilled in circumvention of the
CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT, in a speech on women's
law.
suffrage before the U.S. Senate, February 13,
1900.
Ibid.
31 Let
13 Litigant, n. A person about to give up his skin
22 Law is the expression and the perfection of com-
way W
for the hope of retaining his bones.
mon sense.
I
Ibid.
Attributed to Joseph Hodges Choate.
I
14 Litigation, n. A machine which you go into as
23 No man has ever yet been hanged for breaking
32 Th
a pig and come out of as a sausage.
the spirit of a law.
of san
Ibid.
GROVER CLEVELAND, quoted in James Ford
State I
Rhodes, History of the United States, 1893-1906.
progre:
US $70.00
256 Judges
1 I think this is the most extraordinary collection of human talent, of human
We have a crimin
knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House-with the possible
its efficiency is or
exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.
who don't know a
-JOHN F. KENNEDY, specch, dinner honoring 49 Nobel Prize
winners, in The New York Times, April 30, 1962
JUDGES
See also LAW
The jury system
upon ignorance, st
2 The acme of judicial distinction means the ability to look a lawyer straight in
the eye for two hours and not hear a damned word he says.
Jury, n. A number
-JOHN MARSHALL, quoted in Albert J. Beveridge,
venting law from
The Life of John Marshall [1916-1919]
I never saw twelv
3 The perfect judge fears nothing-he could go front to front before God,
human case, were
Before the perfect judge all shall stand back-life and death shall stand
back-heaven and hell shall stand back.
-WALT WHITMAN, Great Are the Myths,
[When not in the
in Leaves of Grass, 1860
exceptions; for ex
wealthy man on a
4 Even judges sometimes progress.
olating the anti-ti
-EMMA GOLDMAN, The Social Aspects of Birth Control.
that kind. Next to
in Mother Earth magazine, April 1916
portant of all pub.
5 I don't want to know what the law is, 1 want to know who the judge is.
Trial by jury is a
-Roy M. COHN, saying
[Cohn, a feared New York defense attorney, first gained notoriety as a young
[Hand was the me
counsel to Red-hunting Sen. Joseph McCarthy.|
highest court, an
6 Judges are the weakest link in our system of justice, and they are also the most
A court is only as
protected.
-ALAN DERSHOWITZ, Newsweek, Feb. 20, 1978
make it up.
7 Judicial restraint is but another form of judicial activism.
Why should anyo
-LAURENCE H. TRIBE, American Constitutional Law, 1978
lected in various
-
capacity for decid
8 We must never forget that the only real source of power that we as judges can
-
tap is the respect of the people.
[Griswold was de
-THURGOOD MARSHALL, in the Chicago Tribune,
1899, Oliver Wen
August 15, 1981
or unusual judgm
a very large amot
JULY FOURTH
See INDEPENDENCE DAY
But he also specu
the administratic
community," Lav
JURIES
JUSTICE
9 In controversies respecting property, and in suits between man and man, the
ancient trial by jury is preferable to any other, and ought to be held sacred.
Without justice,
-VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, 1776
10 Juries
have
the
effect
of placing the law in the hands of those who
Justice is always
would be most apt to abuse it.
The laws of chan
-JAMES FENIMORE COOPER, The Redskins, 1846
Oppressor and or
And close as sin
11 A jury too frequently have at least one member more ready to hang the panel
We march to fate
than hang the traitor.
-ABRAHAM LINCOLN, letter to Erastus Corning et al.,
[The occasion of
June 12, 1863
South Carolina, (
Dunbar - Becker
615
Since thou¹ and those who died with thee for right
8 To you from failing hands we throw
Have died, the Present teaches, but in vain!
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
Robert Gould Shaw, st. 2
Ibid. st. 3
S up on
2 It's easy 'nough to titter w'en de stew is smokin'
hot,
Bertrand Russell, Earl Russell
ings, st. 2
But hit's mighty ha'd to giggle w'en dey's nuffin'
1872-1970
in de pot.
9
Philosophy
Mathematics may be defined as the subject in
which we never know what we are talking about,
nor whether what we are saying is true.
Learned Hand
Recent Work on the Principles of Mathematics
e public
1872-1961
[1901]. In International Monthly, vol. 4, P. 84
10
Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only
t of the
3 This much I think I do know- that a society so
truth, but supreme beauty- a beauty cold and aus-
Boston
riven that the spirit of moderation is gone, no court
tere, like that of sculpture, without appeal to any
can save; that a society where that spirit flourishes,
part of our weaker nature, without the gorgeous
no court need save; that in a society which evades its
le is busi-
trappings of painting or music, yet sublimely pure,
responsibility by thrusting upon the courts the nur-
and capable of a stern perfection such as only the
ture of that spirit, that spirit in the end will perish.
spaper
greatest art can show.
The Contribution of an Independent Judiciary
The Study of Mathematics [1902]
to Civilization [1942]
11
1928.'
Mathematics takes us still further from what is
4
"I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that
it 2, 1927)
human, into the region of absolute necessity, to
ye may be mistaken. I should like to have that
which not only the actual world, but every possible
written over the portals of every church, every
world, must conform.
lbid.
ching on
school, and every courthouse, and, may I say, of
every legislative body in the United States. I should
12 It is undesirable to believe a proposition when
like to have every court begin, "I beseech ye in the
there is no ground whatever for supposing it to be
bowels of Christ, think that we may be mistaken."
true.
Skeptical Essays [1928], ch. I
r debts
Morals in Public Life /1951]
13 The psychology of adultery has been falsified by
5 1 had rather take my chance that some traitors
conventional morals, which assume, in monoga-
le to find
will escape detection than spread abroad a spirit of
mous countries, that attraction to one person cannot
Attributed
general suspicion and distrust, which accepts rumor
coexist with a serious affection for another. Every-
and gossip in place of undismayed and unin-
body knows that this is untrue.
timidated inquiry.
Marriage and Morals /1929], ch. 16
Speech to the Board of Regents, University of
14 Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of
the State of New York [October 24, 1952/
the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the
one who
6 That community is already in the process of dis-
beginning of wisdom.
O records
solution where each man begins to eye his neighbor
An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish [1950]
as a possible enemy, where nonconformity with the
15 Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly
atre [1911]
accepted creed, political as well as religious, is a
strong, have governed my life: the longing for love,
mark of disaffection; where denunciation, without
the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for
specification or backing, takes the place of evidence;
the suffering of mankind.
V
where orthodoxy chokes freedom of dissent; where
Autobiography [1967], prologue
faith in the eventual supremacy of reason has
become so timid that we dare not enter our convic-
and me.
tions in the open lists, to win or lose.
Ellery Sedgwick
lbid.
1872-1960
IS
16 Autobiographies ought to begin with Chapter
John McCrae
Two.
The Happy Profession [1946], ch. I
1872-1918
17 In America, getting on in the world means getting
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
out of the world we have known before.
lbid.
Between the crosses, row on row.'
In Flanders Fields [1915], st. I
Carl Lotus Becker
t's deep
'Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, white commander of the 54th
1873-1945
Massachusetts regiment (first enlisted black regiment in the
Civil War), died with many others of the regiment at Fort
18
Economic distress will teach men, if anything
1899/, st. 3
Wagner July 18, 1863].
can, that realities are less dangerous than fancies,
See Charles W. Eliot, 522:13, and Robert Lowell, 743:10.
that fact-finding is more effective than fault-finding.
2See Cromwell, 247:1.
Progress and Power [1935]
Attorneys and the Practice
ages for some 10,000 persons
On endangered elephants laws that prevented him export-
ing a piano to Britain Episcopal News Report 19 Aug 92
On seeking. additional compensation for
aged client NY Times 6 Jan 89
sh poet and statesman
Thurgood Marshall Associate Justice, US
Reed Morgan attorney
Supreme Court
of mankind,/ Brown row on
3007 Gross
yers bind/ Their records of
2997 The government they devised
required sev-
defectively negligence.redunreasonabl
The hate might spill and
eral amendments, a civil war and momentous social
On winning an award of $2.7 million for
ared/ With slime of human
transformation to attain the system of constitutional
woman scalded by McDonald's coffee N a
/ Span on Philistine span, a
government.
Mar 95
ies and cruelty, dried grime/
On the US Constitution NY Times 10 May 87
the beggar, Time.
2998 I believe in the color-blind society-but it has
Lance Morrow essayist
recalled by Scott Donaldson
been and remains an aspiration.
ughton Mifflin 92
3008 In Texas lore, there is a defense for m
Life Fall 87
goes like this: "He needed killing."
2999 If it's a dope case, I won't even read the peti-
"A Moment for the Dead" essay on Persia
ovelist
tion ain't giving no bread to no drug
Time 1 Apr 91
thing about a woman until
dealer, won't handle incest cases, either. Disgusting!
ib
John
Mortimer
attorney
and
playwri!
3000 He did what he could with what he had.
3009 Given sufficient endurance you cai
On himself on retiring 28 Jun 91
judge into submission by going on until h.
nief Justice, Munich Palace
3001 There's no difference between a white snake
danger of missing his train to Hayward's He
and a black snake. They both bite.
ready to submit.
im his bureaucrat of death.
On being asked if his successor should be black
Murderers and Other Friends Viking 95
eneral Karl Wolff's conviction for
Newsweek 8 Jul 91
murder in at least 300,000
Michael B Mukasey Judge, NY Fe
If II Time 9 Oct 64
Mark Masarsky Russian capitalist
Court
3002 There is no higher law than private ownership
3010 I am not going to order an open
columnist
of property the same kind of brilliant human dis-
because you stomp your Buster Browns.
his ilk have died out or
covery as the wheel and fire.
On Attorney John H Jacobs' desire to se
d out or sold out.
On rejecting the Communist policy of collective own-
seized overseas in explosion at the NY Ti
ership, NY Times 25 Feb 92
NY Times 15 Apr 95
lical William Kunstler at 74 NY
Robert Megarry Justice of the High Court of
) Mr Fein's Seven Dwarfs.
Ralph Nader lobbyist
Britain
stice Antonin Scalia's relationship
3011 [They are) unsafe at any speed.
nentator Bruce Fein
3003 Argued law is tough law.
Congressional testimony on the need fo
Quoted by John Mortimer Murders and Other Friends
regulation of automobile design Unsafe at
Viking 95
Grossman 65
sy chief
Americans so invisible not
Arthur Miller playwright
National Advisory Commissio
and our cries are not heard.
uit for civil rights Life Oct 92
3004 The police station is where our liberties begin
Civil Disorders (Kerner Rej
and end.
3012 Our nation is moving toward two soci
On forced confessions, quoted in Superchief: The Life
attorney
black, one white-separate and unequal.
and Legacy of Earl Warren PBS TV 2 Oct 89
On presidential inquiry on riots in US cities
even a justice of the peace
Mar 68
pimp before the bar on such
Martha Minow Professor of Law, Harvard
3013 Discrimination and segregation have
the US Supreme Court to rule on
3005 The country holds an ideal of the Court as a
meated much of American life; they now th
in the 1953 Rosenberg espionage
place where people sit down and reason together. It's
future of every American.
S Nizer The Implosion Conspiracy
really nine separate courts.
ib
On US Supreme Court NY Times 28 Jul 89
National Rifle Association
11 former Suffragan Bishop of
Thomas A Moore counsel
3014 Tell them what rape is. Be graphic
3006 Pain and suffering is something that's inflicted
obscene.
on somebody; loss of enjoyment of life is something
On laws seeking to limit sale and use of 1
ity of
retrospective scrupu-
that's taken away.
Times 4 Dec 94
W
Iarshal Harlan Associate Justice, US
Lord Lane of St Ippollitts [Geoffrey
Opinion concurring in part
e Court
Dawson
Lord Chief Justice
6-3 ruling that prohibited sta
to obtain their husbands con
process and liberty] stands
on its own
3257 A rapist remains a rapist subject to the criminal
law, irrespective of his relationship with his victim.
3264 Pregnancy is of course CC
curring opinion in 7-2 ruling that prohibiting med-
Ruling that men can be found guilty of raping their
it is in other ways significantly
counsel on abortion infringed on married couples'
wives London Times 24 Oct 91
cal covered disease or disability
titutionally protected right to privacy 7 Jun 65
Majority opinion in 6-3 ru
Thurgood Marshall Associate Justice, US
employees to refuse to
absences due to pregnancy 7
: H Jackson Associate Justice, US
Supreme Court
3265 This result
will
daily
ne Court
3258 If the 1st Amendment means anything, it means
sword of Damocles over every
petitioner's problem is to avoid Scylla with-
that a State has no business telling a man, sitting
and his advisers.
drawn into Charybdis.
alone in his own house, what books he may read or
Dissenting opinion in 7-2 ru
rity opinion in 5-4 ruling that prohibited federal
what films he may watch.
sional seizure of President N
diction over utility rates 7 May 51
Unanimous opinion that the 1st Amendment guaran-
28 Jun 77
tees the right to possess material that might be
are not final because we are infallible, but
regarded as obscene in public 7 Apr 69
3266 The Constitution require
allible only because we are final.
similarly situated persons simili
curring opinion in 6-3 ruling that upheld the
3259 Power, not reason, is the new currency of this
in gestures of superficial equalit
cme Court as the bench of last appeal 9 Feb 53
court's decision making. [and] cast aside today are
Majority opinion in 6-3 ruling
those condemned to face society's ultimate penalty.
who must search a haystack for a needle is
for males only 25 Jun 81
Dissenting opinion in 6-3 ruling, reversing an opinion
end up with the attitude that the needle is
handed down in 1987, that held that prosecutors in
3267 [The majority has created
the search.
death-penalty cases could introduce evidence about a
the government appears as tl
victim's character and suffering caused by the crime 27
Pacifica as Little Red Riding Hc
ate analogy [would be] Faust an
validity of a doctrine does not depend on
Jun 91
Dissenting opinion in 5-4 rul
it gores.
torializing by public broadcas
enting opinion in 5-3 ruling that upheld state laws
Sandra Day O'Connor Associate Justice,
3 Jul 84
ng statute of limitations on cases of wrongful death
US Supreme Court
lay 53
3268 Allowing the presentation
3260 The court today surveys the battle scene of fed-
ding the expenditure of more I
eralism and sounds a retreat.
but
will
in
time
S Kaufman US Court of Appeals, 2nd
again
them is much like allowing a S1
assume its constitutional responsibility.
to express his views while deny
Dissenting opinion in 5-4 ruling that removed virtually
amplifying system.
doubt that even so eminent a composer as
all federally-based constitutional limitations on Con-
Majority opinion in 7-2 ruli
tving Berlin should be permitted to claim a
gressional power 19 Feb 85
limit independent spending b
interest in iambic pentameter.
3261 Multi-million dollar losses are inflicted on a whim.
tees in presidential campaign:
ng that Mad magazine was not guilty of plagiarism
Dissenting opinion in 7-1 ruling in which her fellow
3269 The considered profession
arody of Irving Berlin's music NY Times 24 Mar 64
justices held that a million-dollar punitive-damage set-
Force is that the traditional out
tlement did not violate the 14th Amendment's due-pro-
standardized uniforms encoura
ny M Kennedy Associate Justice,
cess clause 4 Mar 91, also see Time 18 Mar 91
of personal preferences and ide
overall group mission.
preme Court
Lewis F Powell Jr Associate Justice, US
Majority opinion in 5-4 ruling
eralism was our nation's own discovery.
to prohibit an Orthodox Jewi
Supreme Court
curring opinion in 5-1 ruling that despite advan-
yarmulke indoors while in un
S of limiting congressional terms, the change can
3262 Because of the singular importance of the Presi-
3270 [Jury selection) is best ba
be made by constitutional amendment 22 May 95
dent's duties, diversion of his energies by concern
pants instincts, which are undou
with private lawsuits would raise unique risks to the
typical and may in many case
n L Kiser Judge, US District Court,
effective functioning of government.
taken.
Majority opinion of 5-4 ruling that gave President
Dissenting opinion in 7-2 ruli
ke VA
Nixon absolute immunity from damage suits growing
ficulty of excluding African A
'MI marches to the beat of a drum, then,
out of Watergate 24 Jun 82
try African-American defendar
dwin marches to the melody of a fife, and
3271 Lincoln's tall, gangling }
march is over, both will have arrived at the
William H Rehnquist Chief Justice, US
sevelt's glasses and teeth, and 1
tination.
Supreme Court
jutting jaw and cigarette holder
ng on equality of the dual education programs at
ized by political cartoons,
o
inia Military Institute and a neighboring women's
3263 A father's interest in having a child-perhaps his
would have been considerably
ege, established by the latter as an alternative to
only child-may be unmatched by any other interest
I
Unanimous ruling that overtui
litting women to VMI NY Times 2 May 94
in his life.
the Reverend Jerry Falwell for
Thurgood Marshall
1908-1993
American. Supreme Court Justice
We can always stick together when we are losing, but tend to find means of breaking up when we're winning.
- In Hastie, Grace Under Pressure, 1984
Background of Author/Speaker:
Born: July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, MD. Died: January 25, 1993 in Bethesda, MD.
Career Highlights: Civil rights activist; first black appointed to Supreme Court, 1967-91.
Thurgood Marshall
1908-1993
American. Supreme Court Justice
Why, of all the multitudinous groups of people in this country, do you have to single out the Negroes and give
them this separate treatment? It can't be because of slavery in the past, because there are very few groups in this
country that haven't had slavery some place back in the history of their group. It can't be color, because there are
Negroes as white as drifted snow, with blue eyes, and they are just as segregated as the colored man. The only
thing it can be is an inherent determination that the people who were formerly in slavery, regardless of anything
else, shall be kept as near that state as possible.
- Brown V. Board of Education, 1953
Background of Author/Speaker:
Born: July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, MD. Died: January 25, 1993 in Bethesda, MD.
Career Highlights: Civil rights activist; first black appointed to Supreme Court, 1967-91.
Thurgood Marshall
1908-1993
American. Supreme Court Justice
While the Union survived the Civil War, the Constitution did not. In its place arose a new, more promising basis
for justice and equality, the 14th Amendment, ensuring protection of the life, liberty, and property of all persons
against deprivations without due process, and guaranteeing equal protection of the laws. And yet another
century would pass before black Americans obtained the right to share equally and have their votes
counted, and counted equally.
- In "The Real Meaning of the Constitutional Bicentennial,' Ebony, September 1987
Background of Author/Speaker:
Born: July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, MD. Died: January 25, 1993 in Bethesda, MD.
Career Highlights: Civil rights activist; first black appointed to Supreme Court, 1967-91.
Thurgood Marshall
1908-1993
American. Supreme Court Justice
When you put a white child in a school with a whole lot of colored children, the child would fall apart or
something. Everybody knows that is not true. Those same kids in Virginia and South Carolina-and I have seen
them do it-they play in the streets together, they play on the farms together, they separate to go to school, they
come out of school and play ball together They have to be separated in school Why, of all the
multitudinous groups of people in this country, do you have to single out the Negroes and give them this
separate treatment?
- Brown V. Board of Education, 1953
Background of Author/Speaker:
Born: July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, MD. Died: January 25, 1993 in Bethesda, MD.
Career Highlights: Civil rights activist; first black appointed to Supreme Court, 1967-91.
Thurgood Marshall
1908-1993
American. Supreme Court Justice
We may be losing the battle for equality because racism is broader and stronger than ever before.
- 1989
Background of Author/Speaker:
Born: July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, MD. Died: January 25, 1993 in Bethesda, MD.
Career Highlights: Civil rights activist; first black appointed to Supreme Court, 1967-91.
Thurgood Marshall
1908-1993
American. Supreme Court Justice
When people ask why a separate Black law organization is needed at this late date, the answer is simple. It's not
that late.
- In Jet, August 29, 1988
Background of Author/Speaker:
Born: July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, MD. Died: January 25, 1993 in Bethesda, MD.
Career Highlights: Civil rights activist; first black appointed to Supreme Court, 1967-91.
Learned (Billings Learned) Hand
1872-1961
American. Judge
Liberty is so much latitude as the powerful choose to accord to the weak.
- Speech, University of Pennsylvania Law School, May 21, 1944
Background of Author/Speaker:
Born: January 27, 1872 in Albany, NY. Died: August 18, 1961 in New York, NY.
Career Highlights: Considered one of greatest jurists in US history; wrote opinion in Alcoa antitrust case, 1945.
1957- A self made man may prefer a self
made name.
-Basley Lion 5 share 1957
Crowther
Learned (Billings Learned) Hand
1872-1961
American. Judge
That community is already in the process of dissolution where each man begins to eye his neighbor as a possible
enemy, where nonconformity with the accepted creed, political as well as religious, is a mark of disaffection;
where denunciation, without specification or backing, takes the place of evidence; where orthodoxy chokes
freedom of dissent; where faith in the eventual supremacy of reason has become so timid that we dare not enter
our convictions in the open lists, to win or lose.
- Speech to the Board of Regents, University of the State of New York (October 24, 1952)
Background of Author/Speaker:
Born: January 27, 1872 in Albany, NY. Died: August 18, 1961 in New York, NY.
Career Highlights: Considered one of greatest jurists in US history; wrote opinion in Alcoa antitrust case, 1945.
Learned (Billings Learned) Hand
1872-1961
American. Judge
I had rather take my chance that some traitors will escape detection than spread abroad a spirit of general
suspicion and distrust, which accepts rumor and gossip in place of undismayed and unintimidated inquiry.
- Speech to the Board of Regents, University of the State of New York (October 24, 1952)
Background of Author/Speaker:
Born: January 27, 1872 in Albany, NY. Died: August 18, 1961 in New York, NY.
Career Highlights: Considered one of greatest jurists in US history; wrote opinion in Alcoa antitrust case, 1945.
Learned (Billings Learned) Hand
1872-1961
American. Judge
This much I think I do know-that a society so riven that the spirit of moderation is gone, no court can save; that
a society where that spirit flourishes, no court need save; that in a society which evades its responsibility by
thrusting upon the courts the nurture of that spirit, that spirit in the end will perish.
- The Contribution of an Independent Judiciary to Civilization 1942
Background of Author/Speaker:
Born: January 27, 1872 in Albany, NY. Died: August 18, 1961 in New York, NY.
Career Highlights: Considered one of greatest jurists in US history; wrote opinion in Alcoa antitrust case, 1945.