26 Quotes by Douglas Kmiec

I think what happens in this process is there is an initial search and so much work is required to satisfy the competing constituencies that once a list is assembled, few people want to give it up. Some of the names on the list are almost venerable by virtue of age and longevity. There is a certain comfort in going with what you know, but it may not be the best.

I think it's unfortunate that we're still at a point in our nation where we have to ask these questions.

It is a Reagan personnel officer's dream come true. It is a graduation. These individuals have been in study and preparation for these roles all their professional lives.

Suddenly, a blockage that had existed for at least 50 years was removed. What the Reagan administration was able to do was recover the original understanding of the religion clauses. Neutrality toward religion does not mean secularity. It means evenhandedness.

The answer is no. The judge has no moral responsibility for the laws that his community enacts.

William H. Rehnquist is by nature quiet and humble. His legacy is that he has shown us how to disagree with civility.

We should look for a court with a lowered profile, a court that tries to resolve cases but one that does not discover new constitutional rights.

The Rehnquist court ... attempted to restore dual sovereignty and the conception that states have functions that cannot be displaced by the federal government.

Broad claims of authority and broad claims of illegality are equally suspect.