31 Quotes by Elena Kagan

I think people are great in many different ways. So, I think some justices are great because they have extraordinary wisdom, they have an understanding of how to apply the law in their times ... in a way that's completely consistent with ... the text of the law and the purposes of the law, and in a way that's completely right for the times in which they live in.

My politics would be, must be, have to be, completely separate from my judgment.

Like all Jews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant!

There is no federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

It is absolutely true that I have served in two Democratic administrations. You can tell something from me and my political views from that.

Perhaps most important, judges will have goals. And because this is so, judges will often try to mold and steer the law in order to promote certain ethical values and achieve certain social ends. Such activity is not necessarily wrong or invalid.

Suppose a state said that, Because we think that the focus of marriage really should be on procreation, we are not going to give marriage licenses anymore to any couple where both people are over the age of 55. Would that be constitutional?

Law matters, because it keeps us safe, because it protects our most fundamental rights and freedoms, and because it is the foundation of our democracy.

What my political views or my constitutional views are just doesn’t matter.