Prior to Roe , ... whether one could obtain a legal abortion in the face of an unwanted pregnancy was a crap shoot. For 30 years now, it's been a constitutionally guaranteed right.

299

Among the four liberals [the others are John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Souter], Breyer is probably the one who most often strays from the reservation. He is the biggest example on this current court that justices can be unpredictable.

207

Much of the controversy about abortion is really stimulated by the interest groups on both sides of the political question, rather than by ordinary Americans. The American people and many political leaders have already made up their minds about legal abortion.

194

Most of the trains haven't arrived yet at the station.

192

I very much think Sandra Day O'Connor will indeed remain a 'real' justice.

190

I just can't imagine a scenario in which the White House seriously risks a defeat.

175

He was thinking of this in the medical framework of Rochester, Minn. He imagined abortions would be performed by a family physician or in a hospital.

169

I don't think where someone's law degree is from is necessarily a hindrance, ... There is an advantage to going to Harvard or Yale or Chicago.

163

For 30 years, ever since John Paul Stevens, there has been an unbroken pattern of naming sitting appellate judges.

152

A committed conservative with interpersonal skills equal to or superior to Rehnquist's would be a far more effective chief justice than a nominee of equal intellect who lacks those graces.

139

There are no real blockbuster cases on the docket so far. But there are a number of unusual cases out there, issues the justices want to revisit.

111

It is personal connections and relationships. And if you look back to a Franklin Roosevelt, a John Kennedy, they were products of that elite world.

96