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1 " As Thurgood Marshall observed on more than one occasion, the Constitution does not prohibit Congress from enacting stupid laws. "
― John Paul Stevens , Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir
2 " Admittedly, some high school students (including those who use drugs) are dumb. Most students, however, do not shed their brains at the schoolhouse gate, and most students know dumb advocacy when they see it. The notion that the message on this banner ['Bong Hits 4 Jesus'] would actually persuade either the average student or even the dumbest one to change his or her behavior is most implausible. "
― John Paul Stevens
3 " For candidates who have no fear of losing to a member of the opposite party, the primary rather than the general election will be the decisive event in their campaigns. Whether liberal or conservative, candidates can be expected to adopt more extreme positions when competing within a single party than when competing with a member of the opposite party. I firmly believe that gerrymandering has made our elected officials more doctrinaire and less willing to compromise with members of the opposite party. "
― John Paul Stevens , Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution
4 " On the golf course he explained the importance of strict adherence to the rules. Any cheating was sure to be noticed by other golfers, who would likely infer that anyone who cheated at golf might violate other rules as well. I have thought of him over and over again when young lawyers have asked me for advice about practicing law, and I have responded by telling them that a lawyer’s most valuable asset is his or her reputation for integrity. Bending the rules may provide a benefit to a client, but that benefit is always outweighed by the inevitable injury to the lawyer’s good name. "
― John Paul Stevens , The Making of a Justice: Reflections on My First 94 Years
5 " Neither the First Amendment nor any other provision of this Constitution shall be construed to prohibit the Congress or any state from imposing reasonable limits on the amount of money that candidates for public office, or their supporters, may spend in election campaigns. "
