Douglas Kmiec Quotations

There are people in Washington who become a kind of tight political circle, in the sense of almost the secret handshake.

So judges are responsible for abiding by the morality in their own lives, but they are not responsible for imposing that morality in judicial decision-making.

I don't think among the favored categories of gender and ethnicity, beyond Al Gonzales, the president has an obvious choice.

I expect intense pressure on the president from the loyal opposition to nominate as moderate a voice as he can find for the O'Connor replacement.

He has effected a sea-change in American constitutional jurisprudence. His sophisticated revival of federalism, in particular, renews that which makes democracy work -- not in theory, but on the ground. It gives divergent voices a chance to be heard and prevail, not in one venue, but in 50. Had the Court heeded his wisdom more thoroughly, there would be less nonsense about red and blue division and far less cultural warfare.

He is inclined to the view of the First Amendment that the government is not intended to be hostile to religion. It is intended to be accommodating when it can.

He is genial, warm, welcoming, not quick to take umbrage or disagree. He will be very effective by wit, intelligence and the ability to build coalitions for particular points of view.

Here is somebody at still a young age who had a very strong institutional appreciation for the role of the Supreme Court in the federal system and worried far more maturely than some of his senior counterparts of the effect on our constitutional system.

He's actually demonstrated that he's grown comfortable with the public interaction in a way that wasn't entirely true when he had his own confirmation hearings, where he appeared tentative.

I think what happens in this process is there is an initial search and so much work is required to satisfy the competing constituencies that once a list is assembled, few people want to give it up. Some of the names on the list are almost venerable by virtue of age and longevity. There is a certain comfort in going with what you know, but it may not be the best.

I think it's unfortunate that we're still at a point in our nation where we have to ask these questions.

It is a Reagan personnel officer's dream come true. It is a graduation. These individuals have been in study and preparation for these roles all their professional lives.

Suddenly, a blockage that had existed for at least 50 years was removed. What the Reagan administration was able to do was recover the original understanding of the religion clauses. Neutrality toward religion does not mean secularity. It means evenhandedness.

The answer is no. The judge has no moral responsibility for the laws that his community enacts.

William H. Rehnquist is by nature quiet and humble. His legacy is that he has shown us how to disagree with civility.

We should look for a court with a lowered profile, a court that tries to resolve cases but one that does not discover new constitutional rights.

The Rehnquist court ... attempted to restore dual sovereignty and the conception that states have functions that cannot be displaced by the federal government.

Broad claims of authority and broad claims of illegality are equally suspect.

Edith Jones would in all likelihood trigger strong opposition.

Primarily, the case is about the United States wanting to be treated no better, but certainly no worse, than the way that every law firm and business firm and potential employer for law students is treated when they come to campus.

You would have to show that your vote is diluted by recounting. That seems unlikely given all the recounting there has been in the past

It makes almost no sense to come into a department and ignore the people who have the most experience. And, it's a sure recipe for disaster because it will build up resentment from people who have made the department of justice their life's work and it will make it less possible for the president to get his policies implemented,

I had the distinct impression he didn't think it was a good idea. There was a real risk of the proposal reducing the intended role of the Supreme Court as the final voice.

I'm certain that there are a few political advisers in the White House that have a little less hair. This is a chess game and it is important not only what moves you make but when you make them.

But he was entirely reliant on the quality of legal advice he received.

The case turns on Kennedy. I don't think Justice O'Connor will be present when the court's decision is issued. So her vote is no longer one that is in the calculus.