Fred F. Fielding Quotes

There is no more moving a professional relationship than that between a law clerk and a Supreme Court justice. As a place to work, the court is unique in its intimacy and intensity.

We have never had a president of the United States or a nominee of a major party who was a Supreme Court law clerk.

I never pursued anything but acting. But as a kid, I was really interested in the Supreme Court. I wanted to to be a Supreme Court justice, but didn't want to be a lawyer. I just wanted to go straight to being a justice.

We've been following Judge Alito's career over the last 15 years, while he's been on the Court of Appeals.

All of the legal defense funds out there, they're looking for people out there with court of appeals experience, because court of appeals is where policy is made. And I know, I know this is on tape and I should never say that because we don't make law, I know. I know.

The death of chief justice Rehnquist and the president's nomination of John Roberts raises the stakes for the court and the American people exponentially.

This is the most historic moment in Supreme Court history in our lifetime, no question about it. These are justices who are going to serve for decades.

Our lawyers had their chat with the Supreme Court Justice, and promised to repast the chat to other members of the Supreme Court to find out whether they wanted to hear us out.

I had a chance to go on the Supreme Court of the United States, and my whole family was more disappointed in my deciding not to do that than in my deciding not to run for president - much more.

When I worked in the Department of Justice, in the office of the solicitor general, it was my job to argue cases for the United States before the Supreme court. I always found it very moving to stand before the justices and say, 'I speak for my country.'

If you could say of any one individual that the court as an institution is the length and shadow of that individual, surely it would be John Marshall.

I think the nine justices think the solicitor general is the 35th clerk.

I’m not sure that I was well prepared for the Supreme Court when I came here.

If I were now presiding in the Supreme Court of the United States as Chief Justice, I should feel entirely at home, but with the troubles of selecting a Cabinet and the difficulties in respect to the revision of the tariff, I feel just a bit like a fish out of water.

I began my legal career working for Byron White, the last Coloradan to serve on the Supreme Court, and the only justice to lead the N.F.L. in rushing. He was one of the smartest and most courageous men I've ever known.

If you're a Supreme Court justice, the American people have elevated you to one of the highest offices in the land out of the goodness of their heart and out of deference to your legal wisdom. You get a lifetime appointment, limitless prestige, a great office, and what I have to assume is a very comfortable chair.

The law seemed to be always what I came back to. I have never, one day in my life as a lawyer, regretted my decision to become a lawyer.

The Office of the Solicitor General has a deeply ingrained fundamental institutional culture that has stood the test of time for decades. I went because I wanted to do public service and do an appellate practice at the very highest levels I could.

What I've learned over the years... judges are conscientious... not like lawyers, who give opinions.

I, for one, want to see Mr. Cruz as a Supreme Court appointee.

For me, there can be no higher public service than serving as a member of the U.S. Supreme Court.

I have been approached to consider an appointment to the Virginia Supreme Court. I am humbled and honored to be considered for such a position, but it is not something that my wife and I have previously contemplated.

On the whole, we think of our consumers - other judges, lawyers, the public. The law that the Supreme Court establishes is the law that they must live by, so all things considered, it's better to have it clearer than confusing.

If confirmed by the Senate to serve on the Supreme Court, I will keep an open mind in every case and always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law.

You don't even have to be a lawyer to be on the Supreme Court, which I think is hilarious.