Not a law firm in the entire city of New York bid for my employment as a lawyer when I earned my degree.
Ruth Bader GinsburgRead
Most states in the union where the death penalty is theoretically on the books don't have executions.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Many states in the U.S. have death penalty laws but do not actively carry out executions.
This quote by Ruth Bader Ginsburg highlights the discrepancy between the existence of death penalty laws and their implementation. It suggests that while the legal framework allows for capital punishment, practical enforcement is often minimal, raising questions about the justice system's approach to such severe penalties and the values that inform its application across different states.
Themes
Death PenaltyJusticeLawExecutionsMorality
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the effectiveness of the death penalty in the U.S.
More from Ruth Bader Ginsburg
All quotes βIf you want to influence people, you want them to accept your suggestions, you don't say, 'You don't know how to use the English language,' or 'How could you make that argument?' It will be welcomed much more if you have a gentle touch than if you are aggressive.
Ruth Bader GinsburgRead
I try to teach through my opinions, through my speeches, how wrong it is to judge people on the basis of what they look like, color of their skin, whether they're men or women.
Ruth Bader GinsburgRead
The worst times were the years I was alone. The image to the public entering the courtroom was eight men, of a certain size, and then this little woman sitting to the side. That was not a good image for the public to see.
Ruth Bader GinsburgRead
A constitution, as important as it is, will mean nothing unless the people are yearning for liberty and freedom.
Ruth Bader GinsburgRead
My resume showed membership on both the Harvard and Columbia Law Reviews, a credit impressive abroad where it was not generally known that Law Reviews were student-operated publications.
Ruth Bader GinsburgRead
Similar quotes
Discrimination in virtually every aspect of political, economic, and social life is now perfectly legal if you've been labeled a felon.
Michelle AlexanderRead
Mere access to the courthouse doors does not by itself assure a proper functioning of the adversary process.
Thurgood MarshallRead
Once you've acquired a criminal record, you can be discriminated against legally in employment, housing, and access to education and public benefits. You're relegated to a permanent second-class status, forever a 'criminal.' Inflicting this amount of unnecessary pain and suffering is not cheap.
Michelle AlexanderRead
Trans women of color dangerously fall in between the cracks of racial justice, feminist and LGbt movements.
Janet MockRead
Nobody wants a judge to be subject to the political whim of the moment.
Stephen BreyerRead
One of the things that pains me is we have so tragically underestimated the trauma, the hardship we create in this country when we treat people unfairly, when we incarcerate them unfairly, when we condemn them unfairly.
Bryan StevensonRead