Quotes from Sandra Day O'Connor

We have long since made it clear that a state of war is not a blank check for the President when it comes to the rights of the Nation's citizens.

Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time.

Liberty finds no refuge in a jurisprudence of doubt.

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.

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.

We have long since made clear that a state of war is not a blank check for the President when it comes to the rights of the Nation's citizens.

Yes, I will bring the understanding of a woman to the Court, but I doubt that alone will affect my decisions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Establishment Clause prohibits government from making adherence to a religion relevant in any way to a person's standing in the political community.

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.

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.

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 No Child Left Behind Program was an incentive to the schools to get their kids up to snuff on math and science and reading.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Parents should continue to become more involved with their communities, and more involved in their children's education.