--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're the only branch of government that…" description: "\"We're the only branch of government that explains itself in writing every time itmakes a decision.\" — Byron White" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d50/byron-white-28291_branches_we-re-the-only-branch-of-government-that_20739.jpg" --- # We're the only branch of government that explains itself… ![“We're the only branch of government that explains itself in writing every time itmakes a decision.” quote by Byron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d50/byron-white-28291_branches_we-re-the-only-branch-of-government-that_20739.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d50/byron-white-28291_branches_we-re-the-only-branch-of-government-that_20739.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d50/byron-white-28291_branches_we-re-the-only-branch-of-government-that_20739.jpg) > “We're the only branch of government that explains itself in writing every time itmakes a decision.” [Byron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-white/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The judiciary uniquely provides written explanations for its rulings, distinguishing it from other government branches. **In simple terms:** Judicial transparency through written decisions. Key Takeaway Courts justify rulings in writing. Themes Transparency Accountability Legal Reasoning Judicial Independence Rule of Law Mood Reflective Informative Type Anecdote Observation When to use this quote - Legal education - Law school curricula - Judicial reform discussions - Public understanding of courts Key Concepts Written Opinions Judicial Process Government Structure Practical Applications - Teaching legal reasoning - Improving public trust in judiciary Questions to Reflect On - Why is written justification important for legitimacy? - How does this practice affect public perception of courts? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Branch Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/branch-government-265463/) [Branches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/branches/) [Branches of government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/branches-of-government/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Explains Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explains-writing-396290/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Explains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-explains-396288/) [Itmakes Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/itmakes-decision-396289/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [We're the only branch of government that explains itself in writing every time it makes a decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-white/we-re-the-only-branch-of-government-that-explains-itself-in-writing-2/) [Byron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-white/) > [Congress is the third branch of government... which makes every one of the 535 members of Congress 1/535th of that important one-third, which works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-pruden/congress-is-the-third-branch-of-government-which-makes-every-one-of/) [Wesley Pruden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-pruden/) > [One faction of one party, in one house of Congress, in one branch of government, doesn't get to shut down the entire government just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/one-faction-of-one-party-in-one-house-of-congress-in-one-branch-of/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I think the Supreme Court has, as an equal branch of government, the ability to overrule Congress and the president. But I also feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/i-think-the-supreme-court-has-as-an-equal-branch-of-government-the/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [What kind of man would put a known criminal in charge of a major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/what-kind-of-man-would-put-a-known-criminal-in-charge-of-a-major/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [All government is a trust. Every branch of government is a trust, and immemorially acknowledged to be so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/all-government-is-a-trust-every-branch-of-government-is-a-trust-and/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [The Supreme Court and courts in general have been usurping the role of the legislative branch of government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-akin/the-supreme-court-and-courts-in-general-have-been-usurping-the-role/) [Todd Akin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-akin/) > [The thing I'd want people to say about me is that, in some way, I helped bring the Senate and the Congress back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-schumer/the-thing-i-d-want-people-to-say-about-me-is-that-in-some-way-i/) [Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-schumer/) > [For students, understanding the separate and unique functions of each branch of government can help them understand how different kinds of government officials can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/for-students-understanding-the-separate-and-unique-functions-of-each/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ \[The judiciary is\] the least dangerous branch of our government. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-bickel/the-judiciary-is-the-least-dangerous-branch-of-our-government/) [Alexander Bickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-bickel/) > [Thank God for the founding fathers, who set up three separate branches of government. And the media acting as the Fourth Estate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-carson/thank-god-for-the-founding-fathers-who-set-up-three-separate-branches/) [Andre Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-carson/) > [It is a misnomer to call a government republican in which a branch of the supreme power is independent of the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/it-is-a-misnomer-to-call-a-government-republican-in-which-a-branch-of/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ \[The purpose of a written constitution is\] to bind up the several branches of government by certain laws, which, when they transgress, their acts… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-purpose-of-a-written-constitution-is-to-bind-up-the-several/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The threat to change Senate rules is a raw abuse of power and will destroy the very checks and balances our founding fathers put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/the-threat-to-change-senate-rules-is-a-raw-abuse-of-power-and-will/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) ## More by Byron White > [The Court is most vulnerable and comes nearest to illegitimacy when it deals with judge-made constitutional law having little or no cognizable roots in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-white/the-court-is-most-vulnerable-and-comes-nearest-to-illegitimacy-when/) [Byron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-white/) > [The law is constantly based on notions of morality, and if all laws representing essentially moral choices are to be invalidated under the due…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-white/the-law-is-constantly-based-on-notions-of-morality-and-if-all-laws/) [Byron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-white/) > [The Court is most vulnerable and comes nearest to illegitimacy when it deals with judge-made constitutional law having little or no cognizable roots in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-white/the-court-is-most-vulnerable-and-comes-nearest-to-illegitimacy-when-2/) [Byron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-white/) > [While the collateral consequences of drugs such as cocaine are indisputably severe, they are not unlike those which flow from the misuse of other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-white/while-the-collateral-consequences-of-drugs-such-as-cocaine-are/) [Byron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-white/) > [The issue presented is whether the Federal Constitution confers a fundamental right upon homosexuals to engage in sodomy, and hence invalidates the laws of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-white/the-issue-presented-is-whether-the-federal-constitution-confers-a/) [Byron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-white/) > [When the whistle blows you have only a limited amount of time to do what you have to do. 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This we are quite unwilling to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-white/respondent-would-have-us-announce-a-fundamental-right-to-engage-in/) [Byron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-white/) > [The 1st Amendment protects the right to speak, not the right to spend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-white/the-1st-amendment-protects-the-right-to-speak-not-the-right-to-spend/) [Byron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-white/) > [It is not better that all felony suspects die than that they escape. 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The groves of these trees looked like vast forest sheds, their branches stoppingshort at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-sugar-maple-is-remarkable-for-its-clean-ankle-the-groves-of-these/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Where is the subject that does not branch out into infinity? For every grain of sand is a mystery; so is every daisy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mountford/where-is-the-subject-that-does-not-branch-out-into-infinity-for-every/) [William Mountford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mountford/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [Money is made at Christmas out of holly and mistletoe, but who save the vendors would greatly care if no green branch were procurable?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/money-is-made-at-christmas-out-of-holly-and-mistletoe-but-who-save/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [“The branches do not support the root. But the root supports the branches.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-branches-do-not-support-the-root-but-the-root-supports-the/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Certainly in the United States, you have a constituency in the form of the weapons laboratories, and you also have the branches of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/certainly-in-the-united-states-you-have-a-constituency-in-the-form-of/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [The impossibility of separating the nomenclature of a science from the science itself, is owing to this, that every branch of physical science must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-lavoisier/the-impossibility-of-separating-the-nomenclature-of-a-science-from/) [Antoine Lavoisier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-lavoisier/) > [ \[The judiciary is\] the least dangerous branch of our government. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-bickel/the-judiciary-is-the-least-dangerous-branch-of-our-government/) [Alexander Bickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-bickel/) > [ For some unknown reason, this \[antiabortion\] branch of Christianity cherishes the unborn and hates the living person. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vine-deloria-jr/for-some-unknown-reason-this-antiabortion-branch-of-christianity/) [Vine Deloria Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vine-deloria-jr/) > [ \[W\]ar is a question, under our constitution, not of Executive, but of Legislative cognizance. It belongs to Congress to say whether the Nation shall… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/w-ar-is-a-question-under-our-constitution-not-of-executive-but-of/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [The sky is now indelible ink, The branches reft asunder; But you and I we do not shrink; We love the lovely thunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/the-sky-is-now-indelible-ink-the-branches-reft-asunder-but-you-and-i/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [I have always wanted to branch off and become a fashion guru. I want to share my artistic views with the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-mclean/i-have-always-wanted-to-branch-off-and-become-a-fashion-guru-i-want/) [A. J. McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-mclean/) > [I look down from the branch I'm perched on. The Careers look murderous. Now I smile.'How have things been with you?' I ask sweetly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-look-down-from-the-branch-i-m-perched-on-the-careers-look-murderous/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) [Browse all 1,228 Branches quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/branches/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We're the only branch of government that explains itself in writing every time itmakes a decision.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Byron White" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-white/we-re-the-only-branch-of-government-that-explains-itself-in-writing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Branches" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-white/we-re-the-only-branch-of-government-that-explains-itself-in-writing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d50/byron-white-28291_branches_we-re-the-only-branch-of-government-that_20739.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d50/byron-white-28291_branches_we-re-the-only-branch-of-government-that_20739.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d50/byron-white-28291_branches_we-re-the-only-branch-of-government-that_20739.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We're the only branch of government that explains itself in writing every time itmakes a decision.” — Byron White", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Byron White", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-white/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We're the only branch of government...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-white/we-re-the-only-branch-of-government-that-explains-itself-in-writing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-white/we-re-the-only-branch-of-government-that-explains-itself-in-writing/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```