Quotes

Reagan on Supreme Court

“Our agenda is quite simple -- to appoint judges who don't confuse the criminals with the victims and who believe the courts should interpret the law, not make it.”

October 15, 1987

“I do not believe that nominees to the Supreme Court should have to pass litmus tests administered by single-interest lobbies. Such tactics are better suited for campaigns and elections than for Supreme Court nominations. As I said in my TV address yesterday: Our agenda is quite simple -- to appoint judges who don't confuse the criminals with the victims and who believe the courts should interpret the law, not make it. That starts with the Supreme Court. It takes leadership from the Supreme Court to help shape the attitudes of the courts in our land and to make sure that principles of law are based on the Constitution. This is the standard to judge those who seek to serve on the courts -- qualifications, not distortions; judicial temperament, not campaign disinformation.”

— Excerpted from Remarks at the Republican Governors Club Annual Dinner