William J. Brennan: Government

William J. Brennan was American judge. Explore interesting quotes on government.

William J. Brennan: 24 quotes 0 likes

“If the right to privacy means anything, it is the right of the individual, married or single, to be free from unwarranted government intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the decision whether to bear or begat a child.”

William J. Brennan

Writing for the court, Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 (1972).

Decision , Personality

“We consider this case against the background of a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.”

William J. Brennan

Writing for the court, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964).

“The Constitution was framed fundamentally as a bulwark against governmental power, and preventing the arbitrary administration of punishment is a basic ideal of any society that purports to be governed by the rule of law.”

William J. Brennan

Dissenting, McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279 (1987).

Law

“If our free society is to endure, and I know it will, those who govern must recognize that the Framers of the Constitution limited their power in order to preserve human dignity and the air of freedom which is our proudest heritage.”

William J. Brennan

Writing in Reason and Passion: Justice Brennan's Enduring Influence (1997).

Freedom