One who comes to the Court must come to adore, not to protest. That's the new gloss on the First Amendment.
William O. DouglasRead
The critical point is that the Constitution places the right of silence beyond the reach of government.
Interpretation
The Constitution guarantees individuals the right to remain silent, protecting them from government coercion.
This quote emphasizes the fundamental principle enshrined in the Constitution that individuals have the right to refuse to speak to authorities without fear of governmental repercussions. It highlights the importance of protecting individual freedoms against oppressive government actions, ensuring that citizens can defend themselves without being compelled to provide self-incriminating information.
In practice
In a discussion on civil liberties at a law seminar.
One who comes to the Court must come to adore, not to protest. That's the new gloss on the First Amendment.
The great and invigorating influences in American life have been the unorthodox: the people who challenge an existing institution or way of life, or say and do things that make people think.
I have the same confidence in the ability of our people to reject noxious literature as I have in their capacity to sort out the true from the false in theology, economics, or any other field.
Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.
The truth is that a vast restructuring of our society is needed if remedies are to become available to the average person. Without that restructuring the good will that holds society together will be slowly dissipated... It is that sense of futility which permeates the present series of protests and dissents. Where there is a persistent sense of futility, there is violence; and that is where we are today.
The day should come when all of the forms of life... will stand before the court - the pileated woodpecker as well as the coyote and bear, the lemmings as well as the trout in the streams.
Statutes authorizing unreasonable searches were the core concern of the framers of the 4th Amendment.
All of the legal defense funds out there, they're looking for people out there with court of appeals experience, because court of appeals is where policy is made. And I know, I know this is on tape and I should never say that because we don't make law, I know. I know.
To force a lawyer on a defendant can only lead him to believe that the law contrives against him.
In the last analysis, our every right is only worth what our lawyer makes it worth.
Commitment to the rule of law provides a basic assurance that people can know what to expect whether what they do is popular or unpopular at the time.
The language of the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection of the laws did not change between 1896 and 1954, and it would be very hard to say that the obvious facts on which 'Plessy' was based had changed.
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