--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Judges have to be neutral, but they don't…" description: "\"Judges have to be neutral, but they don't have to be eunuchs.\" — Jed S. Rakoff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/jed-s-rakoff-24994_judges_judges-have-to-be-neutral-but-they-don-t_1854301.jpg" --- # Judges have to be neutral, but they don't have to be… ![“Judges have to be neutral, but they don't have to be eunuchs.” quote by Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/jed-s-rakoff-24994_judges_judges-have-to-be-neutral-but-they-don-t_1854301.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/jed-s-rakoff-24994_judges_judges-have-to-be-neutral-but-they-don-t_1854301.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/jed-s-rakoff-24994_judges_judges-have-to-be-neutral-but-they-don-t_1854301.jpg) > “Judges have to be neutral, but they don't have to be eunuchs.” [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Judges must stay impartial but can retain personal humanity and empathy. **In simple terms:** Judges can be fair without being cold. Key Takeaway Balance neutrality with empathy. Themes law ethics humanity Mood analytical serious Type legal reflective When to use this quote - courtroom decisions - jury deliberations - legislative drafting Key Concepts legal theory psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can judges maintain compassion while staying unbiased? - What safeguards prevent emotional bias? A Different Perspective Excessive detachment can erode justice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Eunuchs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eunuchs/) [Judges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judges/) ## Related quotes > [Being Single…u can be neutral...u don't have to love or hate...be with one or the other…just take care of urself ...what's wrong with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-k/being-single-u-can-be-neutral-u-don-t-have-to-love-or-hate-be-with/) JACKIE K > [I can never really remember what I look like. I'm just sort of neutral. I don't think I'm sort of, you know, hideous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-neill/i-can-never-really-remember-what-i-look-like-i-m-just-sort-of-neutral/) [Sam Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-neill/) > [Judges are the people who have to protect the rights of individuals, have to protect the rights of minorities, have to protect the rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/judges-are-the-people-who-have-to-protect-the-rights-of-individuals/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [I don't have any respect for judges who arrive at the result first, and then try to figure out some way they can bend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/i-don-t-have-any-respect-for-judges-who-arrive-at-the-result-first/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [As, for the safety of society, we commit honest maniacs to Bedlam, so judges should be withdrawn from their bench, whose erroneous biases are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/as-for-the-safety-of-society-we-commit-honest-maniacs-to-bedlam-so/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We don't pay judges to think; we pay judges to rule on the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sessions/we-don-t-pay-judges-to-think-we-pay-judges-to-rule-on-the-law/) [Jeff Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sessions/) > [Independent judges have always frustrated governments that don't see why unelected arbiters of the law should stand in their way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/independent-judges-have-always-frustrated-governments-that-don-t-see/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [One of our Constitution's greatest virtues is that it looks to judges as a source of reasoned, practical, rights-minded decision making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-katyal/one-of-our-constitution-s-greatest-virtues-is-that-it-looks-to-judges/) [Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-katyal/) > [Judges have to have the humility to recognize that they operate within a system of precedent, shaped by other judges equally striving to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-roberts/judges-have-to-have-the-humility-to-recognize-that-they-operate/) [John Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-roberts/) > [Judges are required by our democratic system not to overstep their positions to become policy makers or super-legislators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-grassley/judges-are-required-by-our-democratic-system-not-to-overstep-their/) [Chuck Grassley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-grassley/) > [Just as judges have enormous stake in the appointment of judicial officers in the higher judiciary, the government has an equal stake. Since both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kapil-sibal/just-as-judges-have-enormous-stake-in-the-appointment-of-judicial/) [Kapil Sibal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kapil-sibal/) > [Most of us tend to be swayed by what we read. Judges are not superhuman. They, too, are mortals. This is why they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kapil-sibal/most-of-us-tend-to-be-swayed-by-what-we-read-judges-are-not/) [Kapil Sibal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kapil-sibal/) > [Judicial abuse occurs when judges substitute their own political views for the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-s-smith/judicial-abuse-occurs-when-judges-substitute-their-own-political/) [Lamar S. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-s-smith/) > [Our Constitution was not written in the sands to be washed away by each wave of new judges blown in by each successive political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-black/our-constitution-was-not-written-in-the-sands-to-be-washed-away-by/) [Hugo Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-black/) > [Those who made and endorsed our Constitution knew man's nature, and it is to their ideas, rather than to the temptations of utopia, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bork/those-who-made-and-endorsed-our-constitution-knew-man-s-nature-and-it/) [Robert Bork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bork/) ## More by Jed S. Rakoff > [When I was a kid, and for many years after, I was your classic afraid-to-dance-type person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/when-i-was-a-kid-and-for-many-years-after-i-was-your-classic-afraid/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [It's very hard to uphold individual liberty when the person you're representing is often a crook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/it-s-very-hard-to-uphold-individual-liberty-when-the-person-you-re/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [The price of being a nice guy is too high - much too high - in terms of the system of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/the-price-of-being-a-nice-guy-is-too-high-much-too-high-in-terms-of/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [In baseball you have individual responsibility, and if you fail it, you get an error. But at the same time, your focus is on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/in-baseball-you-have-individual-responsibility-and-if-you-fail-it-you/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/i-was-always-attracted-to-taking-a-novel-position-but-one-grounded-in/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [Companies do not commit crimes; only their agents do. And while a company might get the benefit of some such crimes, prosecuting the company…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/companies-do-not-commit-crimes-only-their-agents-do-and-while-a/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [I admired Truman, among many other things, because he integrated the Army. I admired JFK because the very first civil rights legislation was passed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/i-admired-truman-among-many-other-things-because-he-integrated-the/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/if-crimes-are-committed-they-are-committed-by-people-they-are-not/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/i-ve-never-been-impressed-with-bureaucratic-tradition-i-don-t-like-it/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [One of the many things I like about baseball is how it combines individual talent and teamsmanship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/one-of-the-many-things-i-like-about-baseball-is-how-it-combines/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [I think it's common sense to say that the longer away from a crime it gets prosecuted, the less deterrent effect there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/i-think-it-s-common-sense-to-say-that-the-longer-away-from-a-crime-it/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [Everything needs to be public. The legitimacy of the courts comes from the fact that they reason openly, on the record, based on facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/everything-needs-to-be-public-the-legitimacy-of-the-courts-comes-from/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [In my experience, most federal prosecutors, at every level, are seeking to make a name for themselves, and the best way to do that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/in-my-experience-most-federal-prosecutors-at-every-level-are-seeking/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [Why should the court impose a judgment in a case in which the SEC alleges a serious securities fraud, but the defendant neither admits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/why-should-the-court-impose-a-judgment-in-a-case-in-which-the-sec/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [If, in the name of combating terrorism, we so restrict our own freedom, have we not thereby lost part of the very battle we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/if-in-the-name-of-combating-terrorism-we-so-restrict-our-own-freedom/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) [Explore all 23 Jed S. Rakoff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) ## More Constitution quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [While not widely reported, our victories in Iraq are plentiful. National elections, a democratic parliament and the drafting of a constitution are just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gillmor/while-not-widely-reported-our-victories-in-iraq-are-plentiful/) [Paul Gillmor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gillmor/) > [In a recent decision of the Supreme Court, not made, however, by the full court, and concurred in by only four justices, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bates-clark/in-a-recent-decision-of-the-supreme-court-not-made-however-by-the/) [John Bates Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bates-clark/) > [The judiciary must not take on the coloration of whatever may be popular at the moment. We are guardian of rights, and we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/the-judiciary-must-not-take-on-the-coloration-of-whatever-may-be/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [There is not a revolution that succe Women are suffering because they are being excluded. The high military council excluded women from the committee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/there-is-not-a-revolution-that-succe-women-are-suffering-because-they/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“The Court has a special responsibility to ensure that the Constitution works in practice. While education, including the transmission of our civic values from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/the-court-has-a-special-responsibility-to-ensure-that-the/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [The Constitution is very clear on the - on the declaration of war or reacting to international crimes - crimes against nations. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-pitts/the-constitution-is-very-clear-on-the-on-the-declaration-of-war-or/) Joe Pitts > [Nothing from man's hands, nor law, nor constitution, can be final. Truth alone is final.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/nothing-from-man-s-hands-nor-law-nor-constitution-can-be-final-truth/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [“I am apprehensive, Sir, that in the warmth of my feelings, I may have uttered expressions, which were too vehement. If such has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/i-am-apprehensive-sir-that-in-the-warmth-of-my-feelings-i-may-have/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) [Browse all 4,507 Constitution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Judges have to be neutral, but they don't have to be eunuchs.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jed S. 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