The right to dissent is the only thing that makes life tolerable for a judge of an appellate court... the affairs of government could not be conducted by democratic standards without it.
--
America Challenged (1960).William O. Douglas
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Robert Jackson represented the advocate at his best. He possessed the rare combination of a good jury personality and the qualities of a profound lawyer. He knew how to talk persuasively to a jury of Chautauqua County farmers, yet he could argue the points of law involved in the case with great learning and with unanswerable logic, either before the trial judge or an appellate court. He had high standards of craftsmanship as a lawyer; he was thorough and painstaking in preparation.
Robert H. Jackson
The first opinion the Court ever filed has a dissenting opinion. Dissent is a tradition of this Court... When someone is writing for the Court, he hopes to get eight others to agree with him, so many of the majority opinions are rather stultified.
William O. Douglas
The Court thus proclaims itself sole arbiter of our Nation's moral standards—and in the course of discharging that awesome responsibility purports to take guidance from the views of foreign courts and legislatures. Because I do not believe that the meaning of our Eighth Amendment, any more than the meaning of other provisions of our Constitution, should be determined by the subjective views of five Members of this Court and like-minded foreigners, I dissent. Words have no meaning if the views of less than 50 percent of death penalty States can constitute a national consensus. Our previous cases have required overwhelming opposition to a challenged practice, generally over a long period of time.
Antonin Scalia
By All Means, Please Contact Judge Moore!
His name is James Moore, Fayette County Circuit Court Judge.
I still represent all of the families in the matter, and I am wonderfully involved in the case. I was in Birmingham last week meeting with the far more important Judge Moore, Former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. He came to hear my speech there. Of course, you wouldn't know, because you weren't there. Probably in drug rehab.
Anyway, Judge Moore's fax number is CENSORED if you want to express to him any concerns about me and to ask him if these families are still my clients. He might find the inquiry amusing. Judge Moore has his own ethics problems, and you might want to ask him about that. Just be nice to him! Hooah! Jack ThompsonJack Thompson
The only index by which to judge a government or a way of life is by the quality of the people it acts upon. No matter how noble the objectives of a government, if it blurs decency and kindness, cheapens human life, and breeds ill will and suspicion — it is an evil government.
Eric Hoffer
Douglas, William O.
Douglass, David
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