ROSE BIRD

I feel strongly about the sanctity of life, and I have argued against the death penalty. But I believe as an individual justice I can make a determination based on issues and not on preconceived notions.

We have probed the earth, excavated it, burned it, ripped things from it, buried things in it.... That does not fit my definition of a good tenant. If we were here on a month-to-month basis, we would have been evicted long ago.

Courts are an aristocratic institution in a democracy. That's the dilemma for an institution that has the function of reviewing the will of the people. We're bound to be "anti-majoritarian.

The role of the press and the protections which we afford it are today more important than ever before, because we dwell in a society where belief in our governments and in the strength of our institutions is declining.

My role isn't to be politically smart. My role is to do what's right under the constitution. And if that's politically unpopular, so be it.

We are incarcerating more people on a per capita basis in California than any country in the world other than South Africa or the Soviet Union.

If our courts lose their authority and their rulings are no longer respected, there will be no one left to resolve the divisive issues that can rip the social fabric apart ... The courts are a safety valve without which no democratic society can survive.

I appreciate that some people within our state are impatient, impatient to see executions. I don't think anybody in this state will sit easy if, in fact, this becomes a court that ensures nothing but executions to appease the overweening and insatiable attitude of ambitious politicians’

If you have never experienced life under a microscope, you need to understand that those who live a public life are no longer seen as real persons -- human beings. Rather, they are objects to be examined, manipulated, ridiculed and sometimes even hated

It's always the minorities who aren't a part of the mainstream who define what the limits... of the majority are going to be.

It's always the minorities who aren't a part of the mainstream who define what the limits... of the majority are going to be.

The judiciary must not take on the coloration of whatever may be popular at the moment. We are guardian of rights, and we have to tell people things they often do not like to hear.

My role isn't to be politically smart. My role is to do what's right under the constitution. And if that's politically unpopular, so be it.

Courts are an aristocratic institution in a democracy. That's the dilemma for an institution that has the function of reviewing the will of the people. We're bound to be "anti-majoritarian.

If you have never experienced life under a microscope, you need to understand that those who live a public life are no longer seen as real persons -- human beings. Rather, they are objects to be examined, manipulated, ridiculed and sometimes even hated

The individual's freedom to withhold personal service is basic to the constitutional concept of liberty. Without this freedom, working people would be at the total mercy of their employers, unable either to bargain effectively or to extricate themselves from an intolerable situation. Such a situation would make a mockery out of the fundamental right to pursue life, liberty and happiness....

I appreciate that some people within our state are impatient, impatient to see executions. I don't think anybody in this state will sit easy if, in fact, this becomes a court that ensures nothing but executions to appease the overweening and insatiable attitude of ambitious politicians’

I feel strongly about the sanctity of life, and I have argued against the death penalty. But I believe as an individual justice I can make a determination based on issues and not on preconceived notions.

The role of the press and the protections which we afford it are today more important than ever before, because we dwell in a society where belief in our governments and in the strength of our institutions is declining.

We are incarcerating more people on a per capita basis in California than any country in the world other than South Africa or the Soviet Union.

It is easy to be popular. It is not easy to be just.

We have probed the earth, excavated it, burned it, ripped things from it, buried things in it.... That does not fit my definition of a good tenant. If we were here on a month-to-month basis, we would have been evicted long ago.

If our courts lose their authority and their rulings are no longer respected, there will be no one left to resolve the divisive issues that can rip the social fabric apart ... The courts are a safety valve without which no democratic society can survive.