Jed S. Rakoff Quotes

In the administration of justice all proceedings shall be public and oral to the widest possible extent.

Court proceedings, except for certain limited situations, are open to the public. This is for the protection of the accused, to be certain to ascertain that there is a fair trial.

Before we decide to trust you with this power, we ask you to stand before the public and explain your views. Justice may be blind, but it should not be deaf.

And if you take the cameras out of the courtroom, then you hide, I think, a certain measure of truth from the public, and I think that's very important for the American public to know.

I certainly think cameras ought to be in courtrooms.

The public character of every public servant is legitimate subject of discussion, and his fitness or unfitness for office may be fairly canvassed by any person.

When in doubt, one can rarely go wrong by going public.

And the American public was able to make up their own mind whether this verdict was a just verdict or not. So I think there's a lot of value in the public being able to see how the system works or doesn't work, so I think there's a definite value there.

If you take the cameras out of the courtroom, then you hide a certain measure of truth from the public.

We just ask the agency to make reasonable and honest decisions, and the public deserves no less.

Ever since I arrived in Washington in April 2009, I have been fighting for more transparency and accountability in government.

And one of the things I've tried to do in my first months in office is to give more Georgians - reporters and members of the general public alike - a closer look at how their government works.

I think there's been a decline in the public's access to what's being done with their tax dollars, what's being done in their name. I hope that that will be repaired.

We've had public hearings. We've had interim reports, which our statute has encouraged us to provide to the public. We have brought the public along with us, trying to make as much available as possible over time.

If there is a doubt, I believe that I must put myself forward and undergo the people's judgment.

And this week, I am proposing legislation to strengthen our Open Records laws to make public access to our public records surer, faster, and more comprehensive.

The public must be assured that prosecutorial decisions are made on legal and not political grounds.

Can the public business be thus transacted and in secret?

I don’t see any problem with having proceedings televised. I think it would be good for the public.

Justice has to be done, justice must be seen to be done

Justice must be seen to be done.

Public men are all amenable to the tribunal of the press in a free state. The greater, indeed, their trust, the more respectable are they.

Cameras in the courtroom is a great idea.

We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute.

As a public official, when I take a position, I stand up to explain and defend it. I file annual financial disclosures, campaign finance reports, and have to face the scrutiny of public opinion.