Quotes from Sandra Day O'Connor

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.

A state of war is not a blank check... when it comes to the rights of the Nation's citizens.

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.

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.

It's hard to have little children and a job and career at the same time. There is no time left for you as a woman.

What was a problem was the excessive amount of media attention to the appointment of the first woman and everything she did. Everywhere that Sandra went, the press was sure to go. And that got tiresome; it was stressful.

I don't know how a judge can concentrate on being fair and impartial when he or she is faced with possible jail time for making a decision that others deem incorrect.

There was no hostility at the court when I arrived.

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.

A moment of silence is not inherently religious.

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

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.

Historically courts in this country have been insulated. We do not look beyond our borders for precedents.

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

Occasionally we have to interpret an international treaty - one, perhaps, affecting airlines and liability for injury to passengers or damage to goods. Then, of course, we have to look to the precedents of other member nations in resolving issues.

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

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.

I think we may be seeing the beginnings of a resurgence of civic-mindedness in this country. Hopefully the younger generations, which came out in record numbers during the last presidential election, will pass their enthusiasm on to their children.

It is true that as you have children, there are a good many months when you don't want to be working full-time. I agree that that's an issue.

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.

I think most people didn't want to do court duty.

A state of war is not a blank check... when it comes to the rights of the Nation's citizens.

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