Louis D. Brandeis Quotes

The government may set decoys to entrap criminals. But it may nor provoke or create a crime, and then punish the criminal, its creature.

Conscience and public opinion enforce the laws. The police suppress the exceptions.

The more laws and orders are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be.

Criminals don't care what the law is.

In a well governed state, there are few punishments, not because there are many pardons, but because criminals are rare; it is when a state is in decay that the multitude of crimes is a gaurantee of impunity.

Criminals are not the victims of society; society is the victim of criminals.

In other words, in order to capture criminals, the law enforcement agencies must act criminally—a little lawbreaking does wonders for law and order.

Good laws derive from evil habits.

If there be no officer to enforce the Law, of what avail is the judge?

Here the great art lies, to discern in what the law is to be to restraint and punishment, and in what things persuasion only is to work.

Obviously crime pays, or there would be no crime.

The more laws the more offenders

Mutilations of parts of Fingers, are proper to disable such as have abused their dexterous use of them, by Pocket-picking, Counterfeiting of Seals and Writings, etc. Mutilations of other parts, may serve to punish and prevent Adulteries, Rapes, Incests, etc. And the smaller Corporal pains, serve to punish those, who can pay no pecuniary mulcts.

The most malign of all these dangers today is disregard and disobedience of law. Crime is increasing. Confidence in rigid and speedy justice is decreasing. I am not prepared to believe that this indicates any decay in the moral fiber of the American people. I am not prepared to believe that it indicates an impotence of the Federal Government to enforce its laws.

Let me remember, when I find myself inclined to pity a criminal, that there is likewise a pity due to the country.

The free circulation of citizens, which is sacrosanct, cannot become the free circulation of criminals.

The fact is that our administration of the criminal law has as nearly reached perfection in guarding the innocent (and guilty) from conviction as is possible for any human institution; but in securing the safety and order of the community by the conviction of the guilty it is woefully inadequate.

The net of law is spread so wide, No sinner from its sweep may hide. Its meshes are so fine and strong They take in every child of wrong. O wondrous web of mystery ! Big fish alone escape from thee !

The law makes ten criminals where it restrains one.

A judge who cannot punish, associates himself in the end with the criminal.

The thief or swindler who has gained great wealth by his delinquency has a better chance than the small thief of escaping the rigorous penalty of the law.

Simply put, violent criminals break the law - any law - every day with impunity.

My job is to enforce the laws of Florida.

When you criminalize something, only criminals can deal with it. When criminals deal with it, there's no recourse to law, so there's only recourse to violence.

I was involved in legislating dozens of laws, perhaps hundreds. But my glory didn't lie in legislative work, if there is any glory in it. The Israeli law books are full of laws that aren't enforced anyway.