Sonia Sotomayor Quotes

It is not our job to apply laws that have not yet been written.

I certainly would not vote against a particular judge already in office because of a decision in a case. You may not agree with a judge's decision, but the judge must act within the law.

All new laws, though penned with the greatest technical skill, and passed on the fullest and most mature deliberation, are considered as more or less obscure and equivocal, until their meaning be liquidated and ascertained by a series of particular discussions and adjudications.

People expect that the law will be what the Supreme Court told them what the law was going to be.

Laws, especially those of a constitutional nature like the Basic Law, which have been formulated through reasonable legislative processes, should never be freely interpreted or lightly abandoned.

Were I confirmed as a judge, I would decide cases according to the rule of law beginning to end.

In a system of precedent, the new majority bears the weight of explaining why the constitutional vision of their predecessors was flawed and of making the case as to why theirs better captures the meaning of our fundamental law.

Law is not a profession at all, but rather a business service station and repair shop.

The attorney general should be enforcing the law, not policy.

I took the position from day one that it was the right decree, that the modifications I made to the decree were proper, that the correct outcome had been obtained, and that in due time all of that would become apparent. And it has become apparent.

Judge Roberts has assured me personally that he has a healthy respect for precedent and the hard-won rights of Americans.

I tried to decide each case based on the law and the Constitution.

I wouldn't approach the issue of judging in the way the president does. Judges can't rely on what's in their heart. They don't determine the law. Congress makes the law. The job of a judge is to apply the law.

My feeling is that the judge has a responsibility to the Constitution first, precedent second. Precedent is one factor. It is not the only factor. If it was the only factor, then, you know, we wouldn't have had Roe vs. Wade. We wouldn't have had Griswold. We wouldn't have had Lawrence. We wouldn't have had all these cases which the Left love.

I will be vigilant to protect the independence and integrity of the Supreme Court, and I will work to ensure that it upholds the rule of law and safeguards those liberties that make this land one of endless possibilities for all Americans.

Laws should be interpreted in a liberal sense so that their intention may be preserved.

When Congress writes a good law, then there are fewer lawsuits trying to interpret it.

We cannot say that we love the rule of law and reject arguments that appeal to the rule of law as technicalities and hair splitting.

The judge has no right to divinations of public opinion which run counter to its last formal expressions.

It is better that the law should be certain than that every judge should speculate upon improvements in it.

For it is always to be remembered that it is the spirit with which a constitution is in practice administered, that is the great point of consequence, far more than the letter of the law

My job is to follow the law, not to make up the law that has been promulgated by the people or the people's representatives.

The best way to have empathy for people and the best way to have empathy for our Constitution is to appoint judges who will rule based on the law and to have empathy, if you will, for the law only and to rule based on the law.

It's not so much the attorney general's job to decide what laws to enforce. We should do our jobs and enforce laws effectively as we're able.

A written constitution guides and directs the application of law in a way utterly unlike oral guidance. It reminds us that the certainty and consistency of legal application is essential.