William Rehnquist

Somewhere "out there," beyond the walls of the courthouse, run currents and tides of public opinion which lap at the courtroom door.

— William Rehnquist

Pregnancy is of course confined to women, but it is in other ways significantly different from the typical covered disease or disability

— William Rehnquist

At the heart of the First Amendment is the recognition of the fundamental importance of the free flow of ideas and opinions…

— William Rehnquist

Conservatives are those who worship dead radicals.

— William Rehnquist

Perhaps you should say there should be mandatory retirement even of members of the court, members of the federal judiciary. I'm sure…

— William Rehnquist

The "wall of separation between church and State" is a metaphor based on bad history.

— William Rehnquist

The 'wall of separation between church and state' is a metaphor based on bad history, a metaphor which has proved useless as…

— William Rehnquist

The Constitution requires that Congress treat similarly situated persons similarly, not that it engages in gestures of superficial equality.

— William Rehnquist

In any civilized society the most important task is achieving a proper balance between freedom and order. In wartime, reason and history…

— William Rehnquist

I may not be able to define pornography but I know it when I see it.

— William Rehnquist

It is impossible to build sound constitutional doctrine upon a mistaken understanding of Constitutional history... The establishment clause has been expressly freighted…

— William Rehnquist

It is always possible for the court to overreach its proper bounds and perhaps declare a lot of laws unconstitutional and frustrate…

— William Rehnquist

[I]f we assume a liberty interest but nevertheless say that, even assuming a liberty interest, a state can prohibit it entirely, that…

— William Rehnquist

If you could say of any one individual that the court as an institution is the length and shadow of that individual,…

— William Rehnquist

We start with first principles. The Constitution creates a Federal Government of enumerated powers.

— William Rehnquist

The Equal Rights Amendment would "turn holy wedlock into holy deadlock."

— William Rehnquist

What many of those who oppose the use of juries in civil trials seem to ignore is that the founders of our…

— William Rehnquist

I realize that it is an unpopular and unhumanitarian position, for which I have been excoriated by 'liberal' colleagues, but I think…

— William Rehnquist

A father's interest in having a child--perhaps his only child--may be unmatched by any other interest in his life. It is truly…

— William Rehnquist

The laws will not be silent in time of war but they'll speak with a somewhat different voice.

— William Rehnquist