William O. Douglas Quotes & Sayings

“Common sense often makes good law.”

“Free speech is not to be regulated like diseased cattle and impure butter. The audience that hissed yesterday may applaud today, even for the same performance.”

“Marriage is a coming together for better or for worse, hopefully enduring, and intimate to the degree of being sacred.”

“The association promotes a way of life, not causes; a harmony in living, not political faiths; a bilateral loyalty, not commercial or social projects. Yet it is an association for as noble a purpose as any involved in any prior decisions.”

“The Constitution is not neutral. It was designed to take the government off the backs of people.”

“The right to be let alone is indeed the beginning of all freedoms.”

“Since when have we Americans been expected to bow submissively to authority and speak with awe and reverence to those who represent us?”

“The 5th Amendment is an old friend and a good friend. one of the great landmarks in men's struggle to be free of tyranny, to be decent and civilized.”

“The liberties of none are safe unless the liberties of all are protected.”

“One who comes to the Court must come to adore, not to protest. That's the new gloss on the 1st Amendment.”