Ruth Bader Ginsburg

I think it's important to have a sense of purpose. To know what you're working towards.

I think that the court should be a place where justice is dispensed fairly.

I think that the law should be a tool for progress. To move society forward.

I think it's important to be true to yourself. To not compromise your values.

I think that the court should be a place where reason prevails.

I think that the law should be a means to achieve equality.

I think it's important to have courage. To stand up for what's right.

I think that the court should be a place where fundamental rights are protected.

I think that the law should be a force for good in the world.

I wish there was a way I could be more like Justice Scalia.

The greatest dissents do become court opinions and gradually over time their views become the dominant view.

I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.

I would not like to be the only woman on the court.

I’m sometimes asked, ‘When will there be enough women on the court?’ And my answer is, ‘When there are nine.’

If you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself.

My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.

Reacting in anger or annoyance will not advance one’s ability to persuade.

I don’t know how many meetings I attended in the ’60s and the ’70s, where I would say something, and nobody reacted as though I had said it. Then, 10 minutes later, a man would say the same thing, and everyone would say, ‘That’s a terrific idea!’

I was a law school teacher, and that’s how I regard my role here—as a teacher.

I think the Notorious R.B.G. was a take-off on the Notorious B.I.G., a person I had never heard of until my grandchildren introduced me to him.