Neal Katyal Quotes

The courtroom is a quiet place, Judge Roberts, where you park your political ideology, and you call the balls and you call the strikes.

We have judges in the American system and they take on a black robe where they are supposed to shield their partisan preferences. They are not red or blue state judges. They are judges.

Judges should follow the law in deciding cases - not their own values, good or bad.

Good judges do not side with anyone. They rule impartially and blindly based upon the law.

The Supreme Court must never be viewed as a partisan institution.

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

Because appearing to be fair is part of being fair, most mainstream news organizations discourage marching for causes, displaying political bumper stickers or giving cash to candidates.

I don't view myself as a political leftie. I view myself as a storyteller who is fair to both sides.

I respect people who feel things passionately. I do. But when someone is a judge, that is not what they should bring to the bench. It is not really passion, except in rare instances, that serves the bench well. It is, rather, an ability to understand the law and follow it.

I think judicial temperament is a willingness to step back from your own committed views of the correct jurisprudential approach and evaluate those views in terms of your role as a judge. It's the difference between being a judge and being a law professor.

I'm very partisan, but I'm also very fair.

Be able to recognize when you're reading or hearing material biased to your own side.

'Fairness' can be an important quality for legislators to consider when they are passing public policies. But it is a subjective standard. And it has no place among judges on a court - whose duty is to dispassionately judge a law's constitutionality.

I am not a rabid partisan.

[Discussing the confirmation process:] A judge sworn to decide impartially can offer no forecasts, no hints, for that would show not only disregard for the specifics of the particular case, it would display disdain for the entire judicial process.

A liberal is a man who's too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel.

A judge who likes every opinion he reaches is a bad judge.

When an issue is so fraught with partisanship, a special counsel provides some modicum of transparency and accountability rather the the veil of politics.

I am not as partisan as people think I am.

I do not decide cases based on personal or policy preferences.

Keeping politics out of the courtroom is a goal every state aspires to achieve.

I am not a pro-prosecution or pro-defense judge.

By staying neutral, I end up being somebody that everybody can trust. Even if they don't always agree with my decisions, they know I'm not working against them.

There are still personalities that you bond with or a fighting spirit that you connect with, but as a host you have to stay impartial and root for all of them.

The law is agnostic about truth.