--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is our responsibility to explain to…" description: "\"It is our responsibility to explain to the public how an often unpredictable system of justice is one that serves a productive, civilized, but always e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/sonia-sotomayor-1504_civilized_it-is-our-responsibility-to-explain-to-t_1368229.jpg" --- # It is our responsibility to explain to the public how an… ![“It is our responsibility to explain to the public how an often unpredictable system of justice is one that serves a productive, civilized, but always evolving, society.” quote by Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/sonia-sotomayor-1504_civilized_it-is-our-responsibility-to-explain-to-t_1368229.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/sonia-sotomayor-1504_civilized_it-is-our-responsibility-to-explain-to-t_1368229.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/sonia-sotomayor-1504_civilized_it-is-our-responsibility-to-explain-to-t_1368229.jpg) > “It is our responsibility to explain to the public how an often unpredictable system of justice is one that serves a productive, civilized, but always evolving, society.” [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Justice must be explained to the public despite its complexity and evolving nature. **In simple terms:** Explain complex justice system to public. Key Takeaway Promote transparent justice. Themes law public education justice Mood educational serious Type informative advocacy When to use this quote - courtroom - media interviews - public forums - policy debates Key Concepts legal transparency civic engagement Questions to Reflect On - How can we simplify justice explanations? - What role does public understanding play in legal reform? A Different Perspective Complexity may overwhelm audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized/) [Evolve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolve/) [Evolving Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolving-society-4704637/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Justice Serves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-serves-4704636/) [Productive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productive/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Responsibility Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility-explain-4121553/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/) [Unpredictable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unpredictable/) [Unpredictable Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unpredictable-justice-1618569/) ## Related quotes > [In the ever-evolving society we live in, it is the responsibility of all of us, as individuals and as Americans, to rid ourselves of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-schrader/in-the-ever-evolving-society-we-live-in-it-is-the-responsibility-of/) [Kurt Schrader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-schrader/) > [I feel I have a responsibility to myself, a responsibility to explain where we're coming from. Because a song or the performance of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/axl-rose/i-feel-i-have-a-responsibility-to-myself-a-responsibility-to-explain/) [Axl Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/axl-rose/) > [“He had been in the legal profession long enough to know that human behavior was complicated and unpredictable and that justice always had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/he-had-been-in-the-legal-profession-long-enough-to-know-that-human/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [You have to understand, we have better communications and better transportation, so people know what's available elsewhere and can get a message out, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bloomberg/you-have-to-understand-we-have-better-communications-and-better/) [Michael Bloomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bloomberg/) > [“There can be no sense of security in your existence when it depends upon outside factors, for the unpredictable changes of reality can never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/there-can-be-no-sense-of-security-in-your-existence-when-it-depends/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“Systemic disruption requires us to accept that there may be no measurable data to fully substantiate our understanding of those disruptions. Imaging and exploring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spitz/systemic-disruption-requires-us-to-accept-that-there-may-be-no/) [Roger Spitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spitz/) > [Believe it or not, I like the 'Rumble.' It's extremely unpredictable and over-the-top. Everyone in the WWE universe looks forward to it. It becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cena/believe-it-or-not-i-like-the-rumble-it-s-extremely-unpredictable-and/) [John Cena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cena/) > [Let's face it: life, and the way skin reacts to it, can be unpredictable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-odudu/let-s-face-it-life-and-the-way-skin-reacts-to-it-can-be-unpredictable/) [A. J. Odudu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-odudu/) > [It is almost always impossible to evaluate at the time events which you have already experienced, and to understand their meaning with the guidance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-is-almost-always-impossible-to-evaluate-at-the-time-events-which/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum. (Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/nihil-est-incertius-vulgo-nihil-obscurius-voluntate-hominum-nihil/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“Life was indeed unpredictable and it was true that it could take a sudden unexpected turn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preeti-shenoy/life-was-indeed-unpredictable-and-it-was-true-that-it-could-take-a/) [Preeti Shenoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preeti-shenoy/) > [“People are unpredictable and predictable at the same time: it seems that whenever you want someone to surprise you they remain themselves, and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hiorns/people-are-unpredictable-and-predictable-at-the-same-time-it-seems/) [Helen Hiorns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hiorns/) > [It's always very important to me to try to create a story that feels unpredictable. You can't jump ahead and see what's coming, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-hawley/it-s-always-very-important-to-me-to-try-to-create-a-story-that-feels/) [Noah Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-hawley/) > [I bring my classical training - some of it, but not all of it - and also my background and culture, to spirituals. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-battle/i-bring-my-classical-training-some-of-it-but-not-all-of-it-and-also/) [Kathleen Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-battle/) > [Life and death were so unpredictable. So close to each other. We existed moment to moment, never knowing who would be the next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/life-and-death-were-so-unpredictable-so-close-to-each-other-we/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) ## More by Sonia Sotomayor > [This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/this-is-for-an-accomplished-latino-an-accomplished-african-american/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [I have never had to face anything that could overwhelm the native optimism and stubborn perseverance I was blessed with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/i-have-never-had-to-face-anything-that-could-overwhelm-the-native/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [The task of a judge is not to make the law - it is to apply the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/the-task-of-a-judge-is-not-to-make-the-law-it-is-to-apply-the-law/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [I got a message from one of my friends in Puerto Rico, who said, 'Sonia, there's nobody working in Puerto Rico - they're all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/i-got-a-message-from-one-of-my-friends-in-puerto-rico-who-said-sonia/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [In the wider context, what I believe I was - the point I was making was that our life experiences do permit us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/in-the-wider-context-what-i-believe-i-was-the-point-i-was-making-was/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [I have spent my years since Princeton, while at law school and in my various professional jobs, not feeling completely a part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/i-have-spent-my-years-since-princeton-while-at-law-school-and-in-my/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [The first case I sat on... was Citizens United. Talk about being thrown in. Needless to say, if I was scared before, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/the-first-case-i-sat-on-was-citizens-united-talk-about-being-thrown/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [“Over the years, I have gathered more godchildren than anyone I know, and I take the role seriously.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/over-the-years-i-have-gathered-more-godchildren-than-anyone-i-know/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [ I am growing to love DC.This \[Washington\] is a beautiful city. I think every citizen should come see their capital. A lot of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/i-am-growing-to-love-dc-this-washington-is-a-beautiful-city-i-think/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [“I think that even someone who got into an institution through affirmative action could prove they were qualified by what they accomplished there. Page 188”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/i-think-that-even-someone-who-got-into-an-institution-through/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [You make your life choices understanding that you might and do have to work harder to prove yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/you-make-your-life-choices-understanding-that-you-might-and-do-have/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [“The persistence or failure of human relationships cannot be predicted by any set of objective or universal criteria. We are all limited, highly imperfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/the-persistence-or-failure-of-human-relationships-cannot-be-predicted/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [I have ventured to write more intimately about my personal life than is customary for a member of the Supreme Court, and with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/i-have-ventured-to-write-more-intimately-about-my-personal-life-than/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [With my academic achievement in high school, I was accepted rather readily at Princeton and equally as fast at Yale, but my test scores…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/with-my-academic-achievement-in-high-school-i-was-accepted-rather/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [This wealth of experiences, personal and professional, have helped me appreciate the variety of perspectives that present themselves in every case that I hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/this-wealth-of-experiences-personal-and-professional-have-helped-me/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) [Explore all 234 Sonia Sotomayor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) ## More Civilized quotes > [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Civilized nations are ones that simply can't endure wrongs or injustice except at home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-anderson/civilized-nations-are-ones-that-simply-can-t-endure-wrongs-or/) [Joseph Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-anderson/) > [Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/our-guiding-principle-was-that-design-is-neither-an-intellectual-nor/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [War is not civilized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/war-is-not-civilized/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/no-people-is-wholly-civilized-where-a-distinction-is-drawn-between/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Mine was, as it were, the connecting link between wild and cultivated fields; as some states are civilized, and others half-civilized, and others savage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/mine-was-as-it-were-the-connecting-link-between-wild-and-cultivated/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The military mind is indeed a menace. Old-fashioned futurity that sees only men fighting and dying in smoke and fire; hears nothing more civilized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-o-casey/the-military-mind-is-indeed-a-menace-old-fashioned-futurity-that-sees/) [Sean O'Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-o-casey/) > [As long as there are prisons, police, armies, navies; we are not civilized. When the Earth joins together and uses the Earth intelligently, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/as-long-as-there-are-prisons-police-armies-navies-we-are-not/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [We're all intrigued, in our civilized world that we live in, and curious about how we would get on, on an undiscovered island that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/we-re-all-intrigued-in-our-civilized-world-that-we-live-in-and/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [When passions and appetites are stronger than the intellect, men are savages; when the intellect governs the passions, when the passions are servants, men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/when-passions-and-appetites-are-stronger-than-the-intellect-men-are/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Savage peoples are ruled by passion, civilized peoples by the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/savage-peoples-are-ruled-by-passion-civilized-peoples-by-the-mind/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) [Browse all 1,043 Civilized quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is our responsibility to explain to the public how an often unpredictable system of justice is one that serves a productive, civilized, but always evolving, society.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sonia Sotomayor" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/it-is-our-responsibility-to-explain-to-the-public-how-an-often/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilized" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/it-is-our-responsibility-to-explain-to-the-public-how-an-often/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/sonia-sotomayor-1504_civilized_it-is-our-responsibility-to-explain-to-t_1368229.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/sonia-sotomayor-1504_civilized_it-is-our-responsibility-to-explain-to-t_1368229.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/sonia-sotomayor-1504_civilized_it-is-our-responsibility-to-explain-to-t_1368229.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is our responsibility to explain to the public how an often unpredictable system of justice is one that…” — Sonia Sotomayor", "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": "Sonia Sotomayor", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is our responsibility to explain...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/it-is-our-responsibility-to-explain-to-the-public-how-an-often/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/it-is-our-responsibility-to-explain-to-the-public-how-an-often/#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 } } ] } ```