“Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. I am not so sure Justice O'Connor is the author of that line since Professor Resnik attributes that line to Supreme Court Justice Coyle. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, as Professor Martha Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.”

—  Sonia Sotomayor

Address to the Raising the Bar symposium (2001)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion i…" by Sonia Sotomayor?
Sonia Sotomayor photo
Sonia Sotomayor 12
U.S. Supreme Court Justice 1954

Related quotes

Voltairine de Cleyre photo

“First, then, God, being all-just, wishes to do justice; being all-wise, knows what justice is; being all-powerful, can do justice. Why then injustice?”

Voltairine de Cleyre (1866–1912) American anarchist writer and feminist

The Economic Tendency of Freethought (1890)
Context: First, then, God, being all-just, wishes to do justice; being all-wise, knows what justice is; being all-powerful, can do justice. Why then injustice? Either your God can do justice and won't or doesn't know what justice is, or he cannot do it. The immediate reply is: "What appears to be injustice in our eyes, in the sight of omniscience may be justice. God's ways are not our ways."
Oh, but if he is the all-wise pattern, they should be; what is good enough for God ought to be good enough for man; but what is too mean for man won't do in a God.

Naomi Novik photo

“And I wasn't old enough to be wise, so I loved her more, not less, because I knew she would be taken from me soon.”

Naomi Novik book Uprooted

Source: Uprooted

Hammurabi photo

“Laws of justice which Hammurabi, the wise king, established.”

Hammurabi (-1810–-1750 BC) sixth king of Babylon

Epilogue to the Code of Hammurabi (translated by Leonard William King, 1910). i like potatoes

Helen Reddy photo

“Oh yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong
I am invincible
I am woman”

Helen Reddy (1941) Australian actress

"I Am Woman"; written and sung by Reddy
Lyrics, "I Don't Know How To Love Him"(1971)

Robert Jordan photo

“I have heard it said that a man caught between his wife and a Wise One often wishes for a dozen old enemies to fight instead. A man caught between a wife and three Wise Ones, and the wife a Wise One herself, must consider trying to slay Sightblinder.”

Robert Jordan (1948–2007) American writer

Aviendha
(15 October 1991)

Thomas Moore photo

“Ask a woman's advice, and, whate'er she advise,
Do the very reverse and you're sure to be wise.”

Thomas Moore (1779–1852) Irish poet, singer and songwriter

How To Make a Good Politician.
Irish Melodies http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/moore.html (1807–1834)

Merrick Garland photo

“I would say the one for which — the most admiration, is the one I just mentioned, Justice John Marshall, Chief Justice John Marshall who decided Marbury v. Madison and so deciding established that the constitution is the supreme law of the land.”

Merrick Garland (1952) American judge

[Merrick Garland, Confirmation hearing on nomination of Merrick Garland to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, United States Senate, December 1, 1995]; quote excerpted in:
[March 18, 2016, http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2016/03/16/judge-merrick-garland-in-his-own-words/, Judge Merrick Garland, In His Own Words, Joe Palazzolo, March 16, 2016, The Wall Street Journal]
Confirmation hearing on nomination to United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1995)

Jim Butcher photo

“I am blind and limited. I would be a fool think myself wise. And so, not knowing what the universe means, I can only try to be responsible with the knowledge, the strength, and the time given to me. I must be true to my heart.”

Jim Butcher book Death Masks

Source: Death Masks

Ovid photo

“Say that I live, but in such wise that I would not live.”
Vivere me dices, sed sic ut vivere nolim

Ovid book Tristia

III, vii, 7; translation by Arthur Leslie Wheeler
Tristia (Sorrows)

Everett Dean Martin photo

“Moral education is not mere drill in the ways of the herd. The good man's first duty, as Professor Erskine says, is to be intelligent. Good intentions alone do not enable man to judge wisely or behave well. The prevailing idea that one can be at the same time good and stupid has strongly influenced our education.”

Everett Dean Martin (1880–1941)

Source: The Meaning of a Liberal Education (1926), p. 180

Related topics