23 Quotes by Richard Garnett

Through most of our history a lot of Americans would have been freaked out by the idea of more than one, ... For a long time there was the one Catholic seat and one Jewish seat.

There are no airs about this guy, no pretension,

Liberal justices like Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg think as highly of him as someone like Clarence Thomas. I think that's a testament to the respect he enjoys.

I wouldn't imagine him jumping in to cut off Justice (Ruth Bader) Ginsburg or Justice Scalia if they are talking too long.

I don't think he was consciously trying to help the White House by announcing something now, but it does make things easier for the president. It simplifies things because he doesn't feel like he has to make both conservatives and moderates happy with two picks. The one vacancy will allow him to focus on the right person he sees for the job.

He loves the court, ... So he must have felt, 'If I can stay on the job with a reasonable expectation I can maintain my health, then why not.'

When he was first on the court, he was challenging the dominant way of thinking. But when he became chief, he decided his role was different. The chief has a stewardship obligation, in his view, and is the face of the court and caretaker of the institution. That's bound to change the way you do things.

He was fabulous, ... It was kind of like, when the word got out that Roberts was arguing, people would drop what they were doing and go watch because it was going to watch a real craftsman.

He was a follower. He got tricked easily.