Anthony Kennedy Quotes

At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.

The Constitution doesn't belong to a bunch of judges and lawyers. It belongs to you.

As the Constitution endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom.

The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is besides the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech.

The case for freedom, the case for our constitutional principles the case for our heritage has to be made anew in each generation. The work of freedom is never done.

We must never lose sight of the fact that the law has a moral foundation, and we must never fail to ask ourselves not only what the law is, but what the law should be.

The Constitution needs allegiance and loyalty and renewal and understanding with each generation, or else it's not going to last.

Asking questions is an essential part of police investigation. In the ordinary sense a police officer is free to ask a person for identification without implicating the Fourth Amendment.

Sometimes you don't know if you're Caesar about to cross the Rubicon or Captain Queeg cutting your own tow line.

Democracy is something that you must learn each generation. It has to be taught.

Any time you burn a cross in Virginia, it's a crime?

A law imposing criminal penalties on protected speech is a stark example of speech suppression.

The Government may not suppress lawful speech as the means to suppress unlawful speech.

It is proper that we acknowledge the overwhelming weight of international opinion against the juvenile death penalty.

Sometimes it is easy... to enhance your prestige by not exercising your responsibility, but that's not been the tradition of the court.

Some kinds of government regulation of private consensual homosexual behavior may face substantial constitutional challenge.

There's a time for debate and a time for consensus. There's a time for advocacy and time for first principles.

In the political context fair means somebody that will vote for the unions or for the business. It can't mean that in the judicial context or we're in real trouble.

You have plaintiffs attorneys, you have defense attorneys. So there is no unified bar that will protect a particular judge who has made a courageous decision that's unpopular.

No one questions the validity, the urgency, the essentiality of the Voting Rights Act.

The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is beside the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech.