Learned Hand Quotes

Judges are Gods upon earth.

Justice is determined by the personality of the judges.

The obligation of any judge is to decide the case before the court, and the nature of the issue presented will largely determine the appropriate scope of the principle on which its decision should rest.

It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.

As a judge, it is not my function to develop public policy.

The state in commissioning its judges has commanded them to judge, but neither in constitution nor in statute has it formulated a code to define the manner of their judging.

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

Cabinet resolutions approving mass releases of terrorists deal a mortal blow to the status of Israel's judges and courts.

A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law.

The judge weighs the arguments and puts a brave face on the matter, and since there must be a decision, decides as he can, and hopes he has done justice and given satisfaction to the community

I do not allow myself to be moved by anything except the law. If there has been a mistake in the law, or if I think there has beenperjury or injustice, I will weigh the petition most carefully, but I do not permit myself to be moved by more harrowing details, and I try to treat each case as if I was reviewing it or hearing it for the first time from the bench.

I'm a judge. It seemed to me that it was critical to try to take action to stem the criticism and help people understand that in the constitutional framework, it's terribly important not to have a system of retaliation against decisions people don't like.

Judges have to have the humility to recognize that they operate within a system of precedent, shaped by other judges equally striving to live up to the judicial oath.

The value of a decision as a precedent is very much enhanced by the care with which it has been considered, and if the opinion itself shows that other decisions of the same court, or of other courts upon the same point, have been reviewed and examined, it adds to the value of the decision made on each consideration.

Isn’t he who chooses the judge the master of justice?

Judges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules ; they apply them. The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules. But it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a bail game to see the umpire.

Courts cannot refuse to hear a case on the merits merely because they would prefer not to.

The great tides and currents which engulf the rest of men do not turn aside in their course and pass the judges by.

It's important not to get into the business of characterizing judges based on one decision they make

I don't suggest we ought to be able to pressure judges, but we ought to be able to criticize [them] when we think they've made a mistake

No man must be Judge who propounds unto himself any hope of profit, or glory, from the victory of either party.

Judges are objects of aversion and distrust.

We don't pay judges to think; we pay judges to rule on the law.

If you're going to be a good and faithful judge, you have to resign yourself to the fact that you're not always going to like the conclusions you reach. If you like them all the time, you're probably doing something wrong.

The judge's authority depends upon the assumption that he speaks with the mouth of others