Samuel Alito Quotes on Law & Regulation (12 Quotes)

None of the legal issues presented by this case seems to warrant Supreme Court review.

A judge can't have any preferred outcome in any particular case. The judge's only obligation - and it's a solemn obligation - is to the rule of law.

Yes, that's, I think, an extension of the traditional right that I was talking about that existed under common law, and it's been developed by state legislatures, and in some instances, state courts to deal with the living will situation and advances ... in medical technology, which create new issues in this area.

That was a statement that I made at a prior period of time when I was performing a different role and, as I said yesterday, when someone becomes a judge you really have to put aside the things you did as a lawyer at prior points in your legal career.

Congress was acutely aware that for more than a decade before the passage of these laws, every attempt to close or realign a major base in this country had been blocked by Congress itself or by the courts. Congress undoubtedly recognized that objective and prompt decisions concerning base closings are vitally important, particularly at a time of budgetary problems and rapidly changing defense needs.

The president has to follow the Constitution. No one is above the law.

The role of a practicing attorney is to achieve a desirable result for the client in the particular case at hand. But a judge can't think that way. A judge can't have any agenda, a judge can't have any preferred outcome in any particular case and a judge certainly doesn't have a client.

I have been a judge for 15 years and I've made up my own mind during all that time.

One of the most solemn responsibilities of the president--and it's set out expressly in the Constitution--is that the president is to take care that the laws are faithfully executed, and that means the Constitution. It means statutes. It means treaties. It means all of the laws of the United States.

A judge can't have any agenda. A judge can't have a preferred outcome in any particular case.

I think if anybody looks at my record on the court of appeals, they can get an idea about the way I approach the work of being a judge. And that's what I would try to do on the Supreme Court.

I did it because that's what I thought the law required.