Earl Warren Quotations

Earl Warren was the 30th Governor of California (1943–1953) and 14th Chief Justice of the United States (1953-1969)

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Legislators represent people, not trees or acres. Legislators are elected by voters, not farms or cities or economic interests.
- Reynolds v. Sims, on the subject of State Senate apportionment.

Implicit in the term 'national defense' is the notion of defending those values and ideals which set this Nation apart. For almost two centuries, our country has taken singular pride in the democratic ideals enshrined in its Constitution, and the most cherished of those ideals have found expression in the First Amendment. It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of one of those liberties - the freedom of association - which makes the defense of the Nation worthwhile.
- United States v. Robel (1967).

I always turn to the sports section first. The sports section records people's accomplishments; the front page nothing but man's failures.
- Reported in Sports Illustrated, July 22, 1968. Variants:I always turn to the sports page first, which records people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man's failures.
  I always turn to the sports pages first, which records people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man's failures.

We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.
- Brown v. Board of Education (17 May 1954)

Legislators represent people, not trees or acres. Legislators are elected by voters, not farms or cities or economic interests
- Reynolds v. Sims (1964); on the subject of State Senate apportionment.

When an individual is taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom by the authorities and is subjected to questioning...he must be warned prior to any questioning that he has the right to remain silent, that anything he says can be used against him in a court of law, that he has the right to the presence of an attorney, and that if he cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for him prior to any questioning if he so desires.
- Miranda v. Arizona (1965)

This concept of "national defense" cannot be deemed an end in itself, justifying any exercise of legislative power designed to promote such a goal. Implicit in the term "national defense" is the notion of defending those values and ideals which set this Nation apart. For almost two centuries, our country has taken singular pride in the democratic ideals enshrined in its Constitution, and the most cherished of those ideals have found expression in the First Amendment. It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of one of those liberties — the freedom of association — which make the defense of our nation worthwhile.
- United States v. Robel (1967)

We may not know the whole story in our lifetime.
- On the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, quoted in Minute by Minute (1985)

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Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile, I caught hell for.
- Variant: Everything that I did in life that was worthwhile, I caught hell for.

The only reason that there has been no sabotage or espionage on the part of Japanese-Americans is that they are waiting for the right moment to strike.
- Testimony before Congress on the Internment of people of Japanese Ancestry (1941).

I have since deeply regretted the removal order and my own testimony advocating it, because it was not in keeping with our American concept of freedom and the rights of citizens. Whenever I thought of the innocent little children who were torn from home, school friends and congenial surroundings, I was conscience-stricken.
- Remarking on his past advocacy on Japanese internment in his autobiography.

I feel that the greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more.

I hate banks. They do nothing positive for anybody except take care of themselves. They're first in with their fees and first out when there's trouble.

I'm very pleased with each advancing year. It stems back to when I was forty. I was a bit upset about reaching that milestone, but an older friend consoled me. "Don't complain about growing old— many, many people do not have that privilege."

If it is a mistake of the head and not the heart don't worry about it, that's the way we learn.

If Nixon is not forced to turn over tapes of his conversations with the ring of men who were conversing on their violations of the law, then liberty will soon be dead in this nation.

In civilized life, law floats in a sea of ethics.

In mid-life the man wants to see how irresistible he still is to younger women. How they turn their hearts to stone and more or less commit a murder of their marriage I just don't know, but they do.

In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.

It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.

Liberty, not communism, is the most contagious force in the world.

Life and liberty can be as much endangered from illegal methods used to convict those thought to be criminals as from the actual criminals themselves.

Many people consider the things which government does for them to be social progress, but they consider the things government does for others as socialism.
- Variant: Many people consider the things government does for them to be social progress but they regard the things government does for others as socialism.

The censor's sword pierces deeply into the heart of free expression.

The fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a greater danger to the privacy of the individual.

The man of character, sensitive to the meaning of what he is doing, will know how to discover the ethical paths in the maze of possible behavior.

The most tragic paradox of our time is to be found in the failure of nation-states to recognize the imperatives of internationalism.

The old Court you and I served so long will not be worthy of its traditions if Nixon can twist, turn and fashion. If Nixon gets away with that, then Nixon makes the law as he goes along— not the Congress nor the courts.

The police must obey the law while enforcing the law.

There is no requirement that police stop a person who enters a police station and states that he wishes to confess a crime or a person who calls the police to offer a confession because volunteered statements of any kind are not barred by the 5th Amendment.

To get what you want, STOP doing what isn't working.

You sit up there, and you see the whole gamut of human nature. Even if the case being argued involves only a little fellow and $50, it involves justice. That's what is important.

About

He represents the kind of political, economic, and social thinking that I believe we need on the Supreme Court…he has a national name for integrity, uprightness, and courage that, again, I believe we need on the Court.
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower upon appointing Warren to the Supreme Court.

[He's] the biggest damned-fool mistake I ever made.
- President Eisenhower after seeing the judgement Warren made while on the Supreme Court.

Related Quotes from The Simpsons

Marge: Do you want your son to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, or a sleazy male stripper?

Homer: Can't he be both, like the late Earl Warren?

Marge: Earl Warren wasn't a stripper!

Homer: Now who's being naïve?!

Quoternity