John Roberts Quotes on Decision Making (9 Quotes)

I think it is a jolt to the legal system when you overturn precedent. ... It is not enough that you may think that a prior decision was wrongly decided,

Many of the conservative policies pursued by the (Justice) Department, such as the decisions not to seek (school) busing or hiring quotas ... have not been formalized in any way and could be instantly reversed when a new administration took office, ... It makes eminent sense to pursue legislation to guarantee that our policies cannot be easily undone.

I have been fortunate for the past two years to serve on a court in which all of the judges ... put aside those (political) ties and those views and become judges all focused on the same mission of vindicating the rule of law. And if you look at the decisions of the D.C. Circuit, you'll see that we're almost always unanimous. We almost always come out the same way and to the extent there are disagreements, they don't shape up along political lines,

No, I don't think there is, ... You look outside yourself, to other sources. This is the basis for judges (to) wear black robes, because it doesn't matter who they are as individuals . . . it's their understanding of the law that will shape the decision.

The right that was protected in the assisted-suicide case was the right of the people through their legislatures to articulate their own views on the policies that should apply in those cases of terminating life, and not to have the court interfering in those policy decisions, ... That's an important right.

If we're relying on a decision from a German judge about what our Constitution means, no president accountable to the people appointed that judge and no Senate accountable to the people confirmed that judge. And yet he's playing a role in shaping the law that binds the people in this country. I think that's a concern that has to be addressed.

Senator Durbin asked Judge Roberts, Did you agree with the decision . . . then Or do you agree with it now ... I haven't looked at the decision in Plyler v. Doe in 23 years. . . .

It is not enough that you may think a prior decision is wrongly decided,

No, I don't think there is. Sometimes it's hard to give meaning to a constitutional term in a particular case. But you don't look to your own values and beliefs. You look outside yourself to other sources. This is the basis for you know, judges wear black robes because it doesn't matter who they are as individuals. That's not going to shape their decision. It's their understanding of the law that will shape their decision.