The critical point is that the Constitution places the right of silence beyond the reach of government.

Quote by William Orville Douglas

Topics: Government Quotes

The privacy and dignity of our citizens [are] being whittled away by sometimes imperceptible steps....

The privacy and dignity of our citizens [are] being whittled away by sometimes imperceptible steps....

Tell the FBI that the kidnappers should pick out a judge that Nixon wants back.

Tell the FBI that the kidnappers should pick out a judge that Nixon wants back.

Marriage is a coming together for better or for worse, hopefully enduring, and intimate to...

Marriage is a coming together for better or for worse, hopefully enduring, and intimate to...

Honorable retreats are no ways inferior to brave charges, as having less fortune, more of...

Honorable retreats are no ways inferior to brave charges, as having less fortune, more of...

The search of the young today is more specific than the ancient search for the...

The search of the young today is more specific than the ancient search for the...

Free speech is not to be regulated like diseased cattle and impure butter. The audience...

Free speech is not to be regulated like diseased cattle and impure butter. The audience...

Acceptance by government of a dissident press is a measure of the maturity of a...

Acceptance by government of a dissident press is a measure of the maturity of a...

Government should be concerned with anti-social conduct, not with utterances.

Government should be concerned with anti-social conduct, not with utterances.

The critical point is that the Constitution places the right of silence beyond the reach...

The critical point is that the Constitution places the right of silence beyond the reach...

The Constitution is not neutral. It was designed to take the government off the backs...

The Constitution is not neutral. It was designed to take the government off the backs...

If the government is in jeopardy, it is not because we are unable to cope...

If the government is in jeopardy, it is not because we are unable to cope...

The dominant purpose of the First Amendment was to prohibit the widespread practice of government...

The dominant purpose of the First Amendment was to prohibit the widespread practice of government...

Violence has no constitutional sanction; and every government from the beginning has moved against it....

Violence has no constitutional sanction; and every government from the beginning has moved against it....

We do not sit as a superlegislature to weigh the wisdom of legislation.

We do not sit as a superlegislature to weigh the wisdom of legislation.

We are rapidly entering the age of no privacy, where everyone is open to surveillance...

We are rapidly entering the age of no privacy, where everyone is open to surveillance...

Ignorance and illiteracy are obviously not synonymous; even illiterate masses can cast their ballots with...

Ignorance and illiteracy are obviously not synonymous; even illiterate masses can cast their ballots with...

The Constitution is not neutral. It was designed to take the government off the backs...

The Constitution is not neutral. It was designed to take the government off the backs...

We will have a world government whether you like it or not. The only question...

We will have a world government whether you like it or not. The only question...

It is far better to be free to govern or misgovern yourself than to be...

It is far better to be free to govern or misgovern yourself than to be...

They (who) seek to establish systems of government based on the regimentation of all human...

They (who) seek to establish systems of government based on the regimentation of all human...