Judges are the people who have to protect the rights of individuals, have to protect the rights of minorities, have to protect the rights in the Constitution, have to protect the requirement that the executive and the legislature not simply… — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share Image
When I was a kid, and for many years after, I was your classic afraid-to-dance-type person. — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
It's very hard to uphold individual liberty when the person you're representing is often a crook. — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
The price of being a nice guy is too high - much too high - in terms of the system of justice. — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
In baseball you have individual responsibility, and if you fail it, you get an error. But at the same time, your focus is on… — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
I was always attracted to taking a novel position, but one grounded in the materials I'd been given, not made up out of whole… — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
Companies do not commit crimes; only their agents do. And while a company might get the benefit of some such crimes, prosecuting the company… — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
I admired Truman, among many other things, because he integrated the Army. I admired JFK because the very first civil rights legislation was passed… — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
If crimes are committed, they are committed by people; they are not committed by some free-floating entity. These companies and other entities don't operate… — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
I've never been impressed with bureaucratic tradition. I don't like it when the parties come to me and say, 'This is the way that… — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
One of the many things I like about baseball is how it combines individual talent and teamsmanship. — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
I think it's common sense to say that the longer away from a crime it gets prosecuted, the less deterrent effect there is. — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
Everything needs to be public. The legitimacy of the courts comes from the fact that they reason openly, on the record, based on facts. — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
In my experience, most federal prosecutors, at every level, are seeking to make a name for themselves, and the best way to do that… — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
Why should the court impose a judgment in a case in which the SEC alleges a serious securities fraud, but the defendant neither admits… — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
If, in the name of combating terrorism, we so restrict our own freedom, have we not thereby lost part of the very battle we… — Jed S. Rakoff Copy Share
