Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men's minds.
Thurgood MarshallRead
Mere access to the courthouse doors does not by itself assure a proper functioning of the adversary process.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Access to the legal system alone does not guarantee fairness or justice in disputes.
Thurgood Marshall's quote highlights that simply providing people the ability to enter a courthouse does not ensure that they will receive a fair trial or that the processes of justice will work effectively. It points to the importance of equality, representation, and the quality of legal processes, suggesting that systemic issues must be addressed for justice to be truly served.
Themes
JusticeAccessLegal SystemFairnessTrial
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in discussions on legal reform.
More from Thurgood Marshall
All quotes βThe United States has been called the melting pot of the world. But it seems to me that the colored man either missed getting into the pot or he got melted down.
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I cannot accept this invitation [to celebrate the bicentenial of the Constitution], for I do not believe that the meaning of the Constitution was forever 'fixed' at the Philadelphia Convention... To the contrary, the government they devised was defective from the start. [Progressive]
Thurgood MarshallRead
When in Gregg v. Georgia the Supreme Court gave its seal of approval to capital punishment, this endorsement was premised on the promise that capital punishment would be administered with fairness and justice. Instead, the promise has become a cruel and empty mockery. If not remedied, the scandalous state of our present system of capital punishment will cast a pall of shame over our society for years to come. We cannot let it continue.
Thurgood MarshallRead
If the First Amendment means anything, it means that a state has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his house, what books he may read or what films he may watch.
Thurgood MarshallRead
In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.
Thurgood MarshallRead
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