59+ Earl Warren Quotes (Fair, Progressive And Innovative)

Earl Warren was an American jurist and politician who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. He is best known for presiding over the Warren Court, which issued a series of landmark decisions that transformed the American legal system, including the landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Warren also led the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Top 10 Earl Warren Quotes

1. The most tragic paradox of our time is to be found in the failure of nation-states to recognize the imperatives of internationalism.
2. The fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a greater danger to the privacy of the individual.
3. Many people consider the things government does for them to be social progress but they regard the things government does for others as socialism.
4. When the rights of any individual or group are chipped away, the freedom of all erodes.
5. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.
6. It is doubtful that congress would pass the Bill of Rights if it were introduced today.
7. It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.
8. Legislators represent people, not trees or acres. Legislators are elected by voters, not farms or cities or economic interests.
9. A republic is not an easy form of government to live under, and when the responsibility of citizenship is evaded, democracy decays and authoritarianism takes over.
10. I hate banks. They do nothing positive for anybody except take care of themselves. They're first in with their fees and first out when there's trouble.

Earl Warren Short Quotes

• In civilized life, law floats in a sea of ethics.
• The police must obey the law while enforcing the law.
• Legislatures represent people, not acres or trees.
• Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile I caught hell for it.
• Liberty, not communism, is the most contagious force in the world.
• Don't complain about growing old — many, many people do not have that privilege.
• The censor's sword pierces deeply into the heart of free expression.
• Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.
• If it is a mistake of the head and not the heart don't worry about it, that's the way we learn.
• We may not know the whole story in our lifetime.

Earl Warren Famous Quotes And Sayings

We are now at the point where we must decide whether we are to honour the concept of a plural society which gains strength through diversity, or whether we are to have bitter fragmentation that will result in perpetual tension and strife. — Earl Warren

A society, in the process of moving forward, often appears to be tearing itself apart. Certainly, an age of rapid change, such as ours, produces many paradoxes. But perhaps the most tragic paradox of our time is to be found in the failure of nation-states to recognize the imperatives of internationalism. — Earl Warren

To summarize: Americans have one of the greatest legal systems, but not a monopoly of the sense of justice, which is universal; nor have we a permanent copyright on the means of securing justice, for it is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive. — Earl Warren

Ben Franklin may have discovered electricity- but it is the man who invented the meter who made the money. — Earl Warren

To separate children from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone. — Earl Warren

We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal education opportunities? We believe that it does. — Earl Warren

Racial discrimination in public education is unconstitutional.....All provisions of federal, state or local law requiring or permitting such discrimination must yield to this principle. — Earl Warren

The man of character, sensitive to the meaning of what he is doing, will know how to discover the ethical paths in the maze of possible behavior. — Earl Warren

Life and liberty can be as much endangered from illegal methods used to convict those thought to be criminals as from the actual criminals themselves. — Earl Warren

Mere unorthodoxy or dissent from the prevailing mores is not to be condemned. The absence of such voices would be a symptom of grave illness to our society. — Earl Warren

I always turn to the sports pages first, which records people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man's failures. — Earl Warren

The only reason that there has been no sabotage or espionage on the part of Japanese-Americans is that they are waiting for the right moment to strike. — Earl Warren

Today, as always, the people, no less than the courts, must remain vigilant to preserve the principals of our Bill of Rights, lest in our desire to be secure we lose our ability to be free. — Earl Warren

The sports page records people's accomplishments, the front page usually records nothing, but man's failures. — Earl Warren

Prior to any questioning, the person must be warned that he has a right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence against him and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed. — Earl Warren

Those who serve upon our juries have maintained a standard of fairness and excellence and demonstrated a vision toward the administration of justice that is a wellspring of inspiration. — Earl Warren

Before this distinguished assembly and the world, the bells today proclaim the joyous tidings of the completion of this quietly soaring tower. — Earl Warren

If Nixon is not forced to turn over tapes of his conversations with the ring of men who were conversing on their violations of the law, then liberty will soon be dead in this nation. — Earl Warren

Our Bill of Rights, the most precious part of our legal heritage, is under subtle and pervasive attacks... In the struggle between our world and Communism, the temptation to imitate totalitarian security methods must be resisted day by day... When the rights of any individual or group are chipped away, the freedom of all erodes. — Earl Warren

The old Court you and I served so long will not be worthy of its traditions if Nixon can twist, turn and fashion If Nixon gets away with that, then Nixon makes the law as he goes along - not the Congress nor the courts. — Earl Warren

Many people consider the things government does for them to be social progress, but they consider the things government does for others as socialism. — Earl Warren

You sit up there, and you see the whole gamut of human nature. Even if the case being argued involves only a little fellow and $50, it involves justice. That's what is important. — Earl Warren

We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. — Earl Warren

[O]ur War of the Revolution was, in good measure, fought as a protest against standing armies. — Earl Warren

In mid-life the man wants to see how irresistible he still is to younger women. How they turn their hearts to stone and more or less commit a murder of their marriage I just don't know, but they do. — Earl Warren

The abhorrence of society to the use of involuntary confessions does not turn alone on their inherent untrustworthiness. It also turns on the deep-rooted feeling that the police must obey the law while enforcing the law; that, in the end, life and liberty can be as much endangered from illegal methods used to convict those thought to be criminals as from the actual criminals themselves. — Earl Warren

The mere summoning of a witness and compelling him to testify against his will, about his beliefs, expressions or associations, is a measure of governmental interference. And when those forced revelations concern maters that are unorthodox, unpopular, or even hateful to the general public, the reactions in the life of the witness may be disastrous. — Earl Warren

If Nixon is not forced to turn over tapes of his conversations with the ring of men who were conversing on their violations of the law, then liberty will soon be dead in this nation. If Nixon gets away with that, then Nixon makes the law as he goes along - not the Congress nor the courts. The old Court you and I served so long will not be worthy of its traditions if Nixon can twist, turn and fashion the law as he sees fit. — Earl Warren

I'm very pleased with each advancing year. It stems back to when I was forty. I was a bit upset about reaching that milestone, but an older friend consoled me. 'Don't complain about growing old - many, many people do not have that privilege'. — Earl Warren

I believe no one can read the history of our country without realizing that the Good Book and the spirit of the Savior have from the beginning been our guiding geniuses. — Earl Warren

There is no requirement that police stop a person who enters a police station and states that he wishes to confess a crime or a person who calls the police to offer a confession because volunteered statements of any kind are not barred by the 5th Amendment. — Earl Warren

Many agricultural counties are far more important in the life of the State than their population bears to the entire population of the State. It is for this reason that I have never been in favor of restricting their representation in our State Senate to a strictly population basis. It is the same reason that the founding fathers of our country gave balanced representation to the States of the Union, equal representation in one House and proportionate representation based upon population in the other. — Earl Warren

All provisions of federal, state or local law requiring or permitting discrimination in public education must yield. — Earl Warren

It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of those liberties which make the defense of the nation worthwhile. — Earl Warren

To get what you want, STOP doing what isn't working. — Earl Warren

Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms. — Earl Warren

I always turn to the sports page first, which records people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing, but man's failures. — Earl Warren

[Apollo 7 was] an expedition of the mind, not of the heart. — Earl Warren

Citizenship is the right to have rights. — Earl Warren

Life Lessons by Earl Warren

1. Earl Warren taught the importance of standing up for what is right, no matter the personal cost. He consistently sought justice for all, regardless of race, and was willing to make unpopular decisions in order to ensure equality.
2. He also demonstrated the power of collaboration and compromise, working with a diverse group of justices to form a unanimous decision in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education.
3. Finally, Earl Warren showed the importance of taking responsibility for one's actions and decisions, even when they are unpopular or controversial. He accepted the consequences of his decisions and remained committed to justice and equality.