--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The judiciary must not take on the…" description: "\"The judiciary must not take on the coloration of whatever may be popular at the moment. We are guardian of rights, and we have to tell people things th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40f/rose-bird-36881_constitution_the-judiciary-must-not-take-on-the-color_8013.png" --- # The judiciary must not take on the coloration of whatever… ![“The judiciary must not take on the coloration of whatever may be popular at the moment. We are guardian of rights, and we have to tell people things they often do not like to hear.” quote by Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40f/rose-bird-36881_constitution_the-judiciary-must-not-take-on-the-color_8013.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40f/rose-bird-36881_constitution_the-judiciary-must-not-take-on-the-color_8013.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40f/rose-bird-36881_constitution_the-judiciary-must-not-take-on-the-color_8013.png) > “The judiciary must not take on the coloration of whatever may be popular at the moment. We are guardian of rights, and we have to tell people things they often do not like to hear.” [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) ## 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 should stay independent of fleeting public opinion, focusing on protecting rights even when its rulings are unpopular. **In simple terms:** Judicial independence over popularity Key Takeaway Guardians of rights must speak uncomfortable truths Themes rule of law judicial independence rights protection public opinion institutional integrity courage Mood steadfast serious principled Type advice observation principle When to use this quote - court decisions on civil liberties - legislative challenges to judicial rulings - public backlash against court rulings Key Concepts separation of powers constitutional safeguards civic duty Practical Applications - legal education on judicial role - policy advocacy for judicial independence Questions to Reflect On - How can courts maintain legitimacy while opposing popular sentiment? - What mechanisms protect judges from political pressure? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Guardian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guardian/) [Judiciary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judiciary/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [As the guardian of our rights, the Supreme Court makes decisions every year which either protect the individual or leave him at the mercy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kohl/as-the-guardian-of-our-rights-the-supreme-court-makes-decisions-every/) [Herb Kohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kohl/) > [I was asked three times directly in the hearing before the board of the judiciary whether or not I would continue to acknowledge God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-moore/i-was-asked-three-times-directly-in-the-hearing-before-the-board-of/) [Roy Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-moore/) > [The rule of law and the independence of the judiciary underpin our democracy and lie at the heart of our way of life. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lidington/the-rule-of-law-and-the-independence-of-the-judiciary-underpin-our/) [David Lidington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lidington/) > [All the rights secured to the citizens under the Constitution are worth nothing, and a mere bubble, except guaranteed to them by an independent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/all-the-rights-secured-to-the-citizens-under-the-constitution-are/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [“The judicial wheel is rounded with equality, oiled with honour and functions smoothly with honesty – principally when both members of the Bench and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munindra-misra/the-judicial-wheel-is-rounded-with-equality-oiled-with-honour-and/) [Munindra Misra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munindra-misra/) > [The intensive and concerted effort to exclude references to religion or God from public places is an attack on our founding principles. It's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-intensive-and-concerted-effort-to-exclude-references-to-religion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The vote by the Judiciary Committee reflects the fact that John Roberts is an exceptional nominee with a conservative judicial philosophy - a philosophy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-vote-by-the-judiciary-committee-reflects-the-fact-that-john/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My concerns through the years increased about the concerns of an independent judiciary and how we maintain it. Certainly in the states. I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/my-concerns-through-the-years-increased-about-the-concerns-of-an/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [Altering the Constitution has become the daily business of the Federal Government which the document is supposed to guide and limit. Both Congress and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/altering-the-constitution-has-become-the-daily-business-of-the/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [What's insulting to the American people, the Senate, to this whole process is that the Republicans, with all other nominees, have said Democrats are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/what-s-insulting-to-the-american-people-the-senate-to-this-whole/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [If you leave out the magnetic stardom of sportsmen and actors, middle-class India today really has just two heroes - the army and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barkha-dutt/if-you-leave-out-the-magnetic-stardom-of-sportsmen-and-actors-middle/) [Barkha Dutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barkha-dutt/) > [ \[The judiciary is\] 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 > [The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-accumulation-of-all-powers-legislative-executive-and-judiciary-in/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [I can say across Europe that many principles that have been taken for granted here around free speech, and around civil liberties and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-can-say-across-europe-that-many-principles-that-have-been-taken-for/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) ## More by Rose Bird > [My role isn't to be politically smart. My role is to do what's right under the constitution. And if that's politically unpopular, so be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/my-role-isn-t-to-be-politically-smart-my-role-is-to-do-what-s-right/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [Courts are an aristocratic institution in a democracy. That's the dilemma for an institution that has the function of reviewing the will of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/courts-are-an-aristocratic-institution-in-a-democracy-that-s-the/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [We are incarcerating more people on a per capita basis in California than any country in the world other than South Africa or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/we-are-incarcerating-more-people-on-a-per-capita-basis-in-california/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [Art strives for form, and hopes for beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/art-strives-for-form-and-hopes-for-beauty/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [...testifying for Dr. Privitera...To these 19 cancer victims, the enforcement of (California) Health and Safety Code Sect. 1701.1, the denial of them medical treatment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/testifying-for-dr-privitera-to-these-19-cancer-victims-the/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [The courts are an easy scapegoat because at a time when everything has to boiled down to easy slogans, we speak in subtleties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/the-courts-are-an-easy-scapegoat-because-at-a-time-when-everything/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [It is easy to be popular. It is not easy to be just.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/it-is-easy-to-be-popular-it-is-not-easy-to-be-just/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [Its always the minorities who arent a part of the mainstream who define what the limits... of the majority are going to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/its-always-the-minorities-who-arent-a-part-of-the-mainstream-who/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [If our courts lose their authority and their rulings are no longer respected, there will be no one left to resolve the divisive issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/if-our-courts-lose-their-authority-and-their-rulings-are-no-longer/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [The role of the press and the protections which we afford it are today more important than ever before, because we dwell in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/the-role-of-the-press-and-the-protections-which-we-afford-it-are/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [We have probed the earth, excavated it, burned it, ripped things from it, buried things in it… That does not fit my definition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/we-have-probed-the-earth-excavated-it-burned-it-ripped-things-from-it/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) [Explore all 12 Rose Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [In our system of government, the judicial and legislative branches have different roles. Judges are not politicians. Judges must decide cases, not champion causes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-hatch/in-our-system-of-government-the-judicial-and-legislative-branches/) [Orrin Hatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-hatch/) [Browse all 4,507 Constitution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The judiciary must not take on the coloration of whatever may be popular at the moment. 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