Judges' Role Quotes

We are under a Constitution, but the Constitution is what the judges say it is.

The real difficulty is not with the Constitution but with the judges who interpret it.

I've got that hands-on experience with federal judges and how important it is to have judges like Neil Gorsuch, who will take a rule-of-law approach to the decision-making process. I think he's eminently qualified.

Remember when John Roberts was seeking confirmation of the Supreme Court, and he said judges should be just like umpires, just calling balls and strikes? Well, turnabout is fair play. What baseball needs behind the plate are umpires like those judges who are called strict constructionists, which means you follow subtle law to the letter.

As a general rule, I do not think judges should consider current societal preferences when ruling on constitutional challenges.

Judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office.

Ending up in the right place in this debate requires starting in the right place. The right place to start is the proper discrimination of what judges are supposed to do, and the rest of the process should reflect this judicial job description.

The Constitution does not trust judges to make determinations of criminal guilt.

We may have lured judges into roaming at large in the constitutional field.

It's very clear that we are going to have 10 different [abortion] laws and that we are going to have these laws made by judges

Judges need to restrict themselves to the proper resolution of the case before them. They need to avoid the temptation to set broad policy.

Judges have to be neutral, but they don't have to be eunuchs.

In our system of government, the judicial and legislative branches have different roles. Judges are not politicians. Judges must decide cases, not champion causes. Judges must settle legal disputes, not pursue agendas. Judges must interpret and apply the law, not make the law.

As someone that's interacted with the federal judiciary a time or two, I will tell you that I have a unique perspective on federal judges.

The Constitution empowers the people to resolve our day's most contentious issues. When judges forget this basic truth, they do a disservice to our democracy and to our constitution.