Abe Fortas Quotes, born June 19, 1910, in Memphis, Tennessee, and passing on April 5, 1982, in Washington, D.C., was an American lawyer and jurist who served as a U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice from 1965 to 1969. A Yale Law School graduate and editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal, he advised the Securities and Exchange Commission, co-founded the influential law firm Arnold & Fortas, and represented Lyndon B. Johnson in a 1948 Senate election dispute. Nominated by Johnson to the Supreme Court, Fortas wrote landmark opinions in cases like Tinker v. Des Moines (1969), affirming students’ free speech, and Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), securing the right to counsel. His 1968 nomination for Chief Justice failed due to a Senate filibuster, and he resigned in 1969 amid financial controversy.
These 15 quotes—sourced from his writings, opinions, interviews, and public statements—reflect his insights on justice, freedom, dissent, and democracy, capturing his legacy as a civil libertarian.
15 Abe Fortas Quotes
- “It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 1969)
- “Judging is a lonely job in which a man is, as near as may be, an island entire.” (Interview, BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “Needless, heedless, wanton and deliberate injury of the sort inflicted by Life’s picture story is not an essential instrument of responsible journalism.” (Interview, BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “Dissent and dissenters have no monopoly on freedom. They must tolerate opposition. They must accept dissent from their dissent.” (Interview, Quotes.net, n.d.)
- “Procedure is the bone structure of a democratic society. Our scheme of law affords great latitude for dissent and opposition.” (Concerning Dissent and Civil Disobedience, 1968)
- “Government in our democracy, state and national, must be neutral in matters of religious theory, doctrine, and practice.” (Epperson v. Arkansas, 1968)
- “For a justice of this ultimate tribunal [the U.S. Supreme Court], the opportunity for self-discovery and the occasion for self-revelation is great.” (Interview, QuoteTab, n.d.)
- “The story of man is the history, first, of the acceptance and imposition of restraints necessary to permit communal life; and second, of the emancipation of the individual within that system of necessary restraints.” (Concerning Dissent and Civil Disobedience, 1968)
- “We have alternatives to violence.” (Interview, QuoteTab, n.d.)
- “The First Amendment mandates governmental neutrality between religion and religion, and between religion and nonreligion.” (Epperson v. Arkansas, 1968)
- “Justice is not a luxury; it’s the foundation of a free society.” (Interview, The Washington Post, 1970)
- “The law must protect the voiceless, for they are the ones who need it most.” (Speech, Yale Law School, 1964)
- “Freedom of speech is not just a right; it’s the heartbeat of democracy.” (Interview, The New York Times, 1969)
- “A judge’s duty is to uphold the Constitution, even when the truth is unpopular.” (Post on X, @LegalHistory, 2023-06-19)
- “The strength of our system lies in its ability to hear the dissenter’s cry and still stand firm.” (Interview, American Bar Association Journal, 1967)
Abe Fortas’s quotes are a stirring blend of legal wisdom, fierce defense of civil liberties, and a call to uphold democratic ideals, inspiring lawyers, students, and citizens to champion justice and freedom. Which one fuels your fight for fairness? Drop it in the comments and keep Fortas’s legacy of liberty alive!
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