Judge

It almost seems I was writing two separate books, the first one about the time before I went on the court and the second one about the many, many terms I was on the court.

I am not a fan of President Trump, I should say. I wouldn't try to comment on every particular issue in which we disagree, but there are plenty of them.

During my years as a practicing lawyer, it just was part of your study of what Congress was trying to say in their statutes. I never really considered judges or scholars as either those who used legislative history or those who were opposed to it until after I got on the court.

I announced my dissent in the Citizens United orally, and I stumbled in my announcement. I had a little difficulty expressing myself. And that was out of character.

Colonial history contains many examples of firearm regulations in urban areas that imposed obstacles to their use for protection of the home.

Sam Alito replacing Justice O'Connor was a very significant change. He is much more conservative. And, as for John Roberts, he is much more in the direction of protecting the rights of very rich people to donate money to campaigns than Bill Rehnquist ever was.

All I can say is I did the best I could, and I didn't do well enough on many occasions.

I play duplicate bridge and I play golf and I go swimming once in a while.

Well, in my job, I avoid political commentary.

The government must pursue a course of complete neutrality toward religion.

The practice of executing such offenders is a relic of the past and is inconsistent with evolving standards of decency in a civilized society.

Public officials, including state legislators, have a duty to act impartially.

There was a fear among the original framers that the federal government would be so strong that they might destroy the state militias.

I think maybe the people in elected positions are more interested in preserving their jobs than in doing the best job possible.

District of Columbia v. Heller, which recognized an individual right to possess a firearm under the Constitution, is unquestionably the most clearly incorrect decision that the Supreme Court announced during my tenure on the bench.

They may not be conscripted against their will as the foot soldiers in a federal crusade.

It is not our job to apply laws that have not yet been written.

When I joined the Supreme Court in 1975, both state and federal judges accepted the Court's unanimous decision in United States v. Miller as having established that the Second Amendment's protection of the right to bear arms was possessed only by members of the militia and applied only to weapons used by the militia.

If you're interested in the job and in the kind of work that's done, you have to have an interest in who's going to fill your shoes.

I had been born a Republican. My dad was an active Republican, but he was not active in politics and I really never was either. It's true that I did belong to that party, but it really had very little impact on my public work or my private views.