--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is always possible for the court to…" description: "\"It is always possible for the court to overreach its proper bounds and perhaps declare a lot of laws unconstitutional and frustrate the will of the maj..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/william-rehnquist-28058_bounds_it-is-always-possible-for-the-court-to-o_1403024.jpg" --- # It is always possible for the court to overreach its… ![“It is always possible for the court to overreach its proper bounds and perhaps declare a lot of laws unconstitutional and frustrate the will of the majority in a way that it ought not be frustrated.” quote by William Rehnquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/william-rehnquist-28058_bounds_it-is-always-possible-for-the-court-to-o_1403024.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/william-rehnquist-28058_bounds_it-is-always-possible-for-the-court-to-o_1403024.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/william-rehnquist-28058_bounds_it-is-always-possible-for-the-court-to-o_1403024.jpg) > “It is always possible for the court to overreach its proper bounds and perhaps declare a lot of laws unconstitutional and frustrate the will of the majority in a way that it ought not be frustrated.” [William Rehnquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rehnquist/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Judicial overreach can invalidate laws, undermining majority will and democratic balance. **In simple terms:** Courts can overstep and block popular laws. Key Takeaway Guard against judicial excess. Themes law democracy checks and balances Mood cautious critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - legislative drafting - public policy debates - court nominations Key Concepts constitutional law judicial activism Questions to Reflect On - When should courts intervene? - How to balance minority rights with majority will? A Different Perspective Legal constraints may limit judicial flexibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/court/) [Frustrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frustrated/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) ## Related quotes > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. 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It's wrong, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-pearce/the-anchor-baby-thing-needs-to-be-fixed-anchor-babies-are-an/) [Russell Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-pearce/) > [The conditions in the prisons operated by the Mississippi Department of Corrections are absolutely inhumane and unconstitutional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-gotti/the-conditions-in-the-prisons-operated-by-the-mississippi-department/) [Yo Gotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-gotti/) > [“Since the turn of the century, American fundamentalists had reveled in their sense of persecution by an infidel elite, but in the 1960s the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/since-the-turn-of-the-century-american-fundamentalists-had-reveled-in/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [To allow same-sex couples to adopt children and then to label their families as second-class because the adoptive parents are of the same sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-reinhardt/to-allow-same-sex-couples-to-adopt-children-and-then-to-label-their/) Stephen Reinhardt > [Yesterday, the Supreme Court spent over an hour listening to arguments on whether Obamacare is unconstitutional. 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It is unconstitutional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayawati/we-don-t-agree-with-the-notion-of-the-government-to-remove-governors/) [Mayawati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayawati/) > [If you condemn someone who has committed a crime to be tortured, that would be unconstitutional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/if-you-condemn-someone-who-has-committed-a-crime-to-be-tortured-that/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [I am calling on all citizens with access to unreleased records pertaining to illegal, unconstitutional, or immoral government activities to return those records to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-shapiro/i-am-calling-on-all-citizens-with-access-to-unreleased-records/) [Ryan Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-shapiro/) > [ Before the Freedom of Information Act, I used to say at meetings "The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer." \[...\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/before-the-freedom-of-information-act-i-used-to-say-at-meetings-the/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Elect me to office. I will protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Because there's no constitutional authority for Congress spending on the objects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/elect-me-to-office-i-will-protect-and-defend-the-u-s-constitution/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [How to check these unconstitutional invasions of rights by the Federal judiciary? 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The Constitution creates a Federal Government of enumerated powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rehnquist/we-start-with-first-principles-the-constitution-creates-a-federal/) [William Rehnquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rehnquist/) > [The Equal Rights Amendment would "turn holy wedlock into holy deadlock."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rehnquist/the-equal-rights-amendment-would-turn-holy-wedlock-into-holy-deadlock/) [William Rehnquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rehnquist/) [Explore all 20 William Rehnquist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rehnquist/) ## More Bounds quotes > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Importunity is a condition of prayer. 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The Christian's maxims are, Do right because you are bound to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-landey-patton/christian-obligation-cannot-be-made-to-accord-with-a-law-of/) Francis Landey Patton > [Such as the chain of causes we call Fate, such is the chain of wishes: one links on to another; the whole man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/such-as-the-chain-of-causes-we-call-fate-such-is-the-chain-of-wishes/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > ['You spin in the sky, the world spins under you, and you step from land to land, while we . . .' She turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/you-spin-in-the-sky-the-world-spins-under-you-and-you-step-from-land/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [An order given in battle, an instruction issued by the master of a sailing ship, a cry for help, are as powerful in modifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronislaw-malinowski/an-order-given-in-battle-an-instruction-issued-by-the-master-of-a/) [Bronislaw Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronislaw-malinowski/) > [It is only when our life proceeds within bounds and in an accepted, disciplined way, that the mind can be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinoba-bhave/it-is-only-when-our-life-proceeds-within-bounds-and-in-an-accepted/) [Vinoba Bhave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinoba-bhave/) > [Yes, thou art ever present, power divine; not circumscribed by time, nor fixed by space, confined to altars, nor to temples bound. 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