"We must never forget that the only real source of power that we
as judges can tap is the respect of the people."
Thurgood Marshall, Chicago Tribune, August
15, 1981.
"Judgment delayed is judgment voided."
Talmud, Sanhedrin
"Four things belong to a judge:
to hear courteously,
to answer wisely,
to consider soberly,
and to decide impartially."
Socrates, 470-399 B.C.
"A good and faithful judge prefers what is right to what is expedient."
Horace, Carmina, c. 13 B.C.
"When a judge departs from the letter of the law he becomes a lawbreaker."
Francis Bacon, De Argumentis Scientiarum,
1623
"A judge must bear in mind that when he tries a case he is himself
on trial."
Philo, Special Laws, 1st century
"The law is not the private property of lawyers, nor is justice the
exclusive province of judges and juries. In the final analysis, true
justice is not a matter of courts and law books, but of a commitment in
each of us to liberty and mutual respect."
Jimmy Carter, Dallas-Times Herald, April
26, 1978.
"The continued viability of the separation of powers doctrine depends
to a very large extent - if not almost entirely - upon the judicial branch
not only policing actions of the legislative and executive branches in
that regard but observing and following the doctrine itself."
Judge Lehan , dissenting in Hapney
v. Central Garage, Inc., 579 So.2d 127, at 139-140 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)
"Great cases like hard cases make bad law." Northern Securities Co. v. United States, 193 U.S. 197, 400 (1904)(Holmes, J.)
"Although I support an unadulterated Sunshine Law, my viewpoint is irrelevant when it conflicts with the Florida Supreme Court. A judge's role in an intermediate appellate court is to follow the law, not impose one's personal opinions to change it. Following the law brings stability to our legal system and security to the public who rely on the law for certainty. In that light, imperfect law is better than inconstant law." Monroe County v. Pigeon Key Historical Park, Inc., 647 So.2d 857 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)(footnote 1), Judge Gersten.
"You shall appoint for yourself judges
and officers in all your towns which the Lord your God is giving you, according
to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
You shall not distort justice; you
shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds
the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.
Justice and only justice, you shall
pursue, that you may live and possess the land which the Lord your God
is giving you."
Deuteronomy 16:18-20
"We receive the statutory law from the legislature and its interpretation from our Supreme Court, agreeing with some, disagreeing with some, following all, because our bondage to law is the price of our freedom." Judge Robert T. Mann, in Johnson v. Johnson, 284 So.2d 231 (Fla. 2d DCA 1973).
"Justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be
seen to be done."
Lord Hewart (1870–1943), in Rex v. Sussex Justices, 1 King’s Bench
Reports 256, at 259 (1924)
These quotations were compiled by William L. Vinson
Contact Attorney Vinson
The Dilemma of a democracy
Bartlett's
Familiar Quotations