Home / Quotes / Quote by William O. Douglas

Quote by William O. Douglas

“Any test that turns on what is offensive to the community's standards is too loose, too capricious, too destructive of freedom of expression to be squared with the First Amendment. Under that test, juries can censor, suppress, and punish what they don't like, provided the matter relates to "sexual impurity" or has a tendency "to excite lustful thoughts." This is community censorship in one of its worst forms. It creates a regime where, in the battle between the literati and the Philistines, the Philistines are certain to win.”

Quote by William O. Douglas

Author

William O. Douglas

William O. Douglas was a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Born on October 16, 1898, and passing away on January 19, 1980, he is renowned for his contributions to constitutional interpretation. During his tenure on the Supreme Court, Douglas advocated for liberal judgments, particularly in the areas of the First and Fifth Amendments, and had a profound impact on the American legal and judicial system. more

You May Also Like

“Man is about to be an automaton; he is identifiable only in the computer. As a person of worth and creativity, as a being with an infinite potential, he retreats and battles the forces that make him inhuman. The dissent we witness is a reaffirmation of faith in man; it is protest against living under rules and prejudices and attitudes that produce the extremes of wealth and poverty and that make us dedicated to the destruction of people through arms, bombs, and gases, and that prepare us to think alike and be submissive objects for the regime of the computer.”

“The purpose of the University of Washington cannot be to produce black lawyers for blacks, Polish lawyers for Poles, Jewish lawyers for Jews, Irish lawyers for Irish. It should be to produce good lawyers for Americans, and not to place First Amendment barriers against anyone.”

Should Firsts Purpose Black Produce University Jew Lawyer Barriers Amendments Polish First Amendment Good Lawyer

Author:William O. Douglas

“The Bush-Cheney administration had betrayed some basic American values. So there was hunger for change.”

Values Hunger Administration Betrayed American Values

Author:Al Gore

“I have faith in the United States and our ability to make good decisions based on the facts.”

States Facts Ability Decision United United States Have Faith Good Decision

Author:Al Gore

“The interesting thing is, while we die of diseases of affluence from eating all these fatty meats, our poor brethren in the developing world die of diseases of poverty, because the land is not used now to grow food grain for their families.”

World Used Dies Grows Interesting Poor Poverty Economy Land Disease Eating Developing Meat Grain Interesting Things Brethren Affluence Fatty

Author:Jeremy Rifkin

“The electronic media introduced this idea to the larger audience very, very quickly. We spent years and years and years meeting with activists all over Europe to lay the groundwork for a political response, as we did here.”

Years Ideas Political Audience Economy Media Europe Lays Meetings Response Activist Groundwork Electronic Media

Author:Jeremy Rifkin

“We are entering a new phase in human history - one in which fewer and fewer workers will be needed to produce the goods and services for the global population.”

Humans Produce Needed Workers Population Goods Fewer Phases Entering Human History Goods And Services

Author:Jeremy Rifkin

“The 10 largest antitrust law firms in the United States have gone into the federal courts charging Monsanto with creating a global conspiracy in violation of the antitrust laws, to control the global market in seeds.”

States Law United United States Economy Gone Creating Court Seeds Firm Conspiracy Violation Charging Law Firms Monsanto Antitrust Antitrust Laws

Author:Jeremy Rifkin

“One thing I've learned over these last 30 or 40 years is that people make history. There's no fait accompli to any of this.”

People Years Lasts Economy One Thing I've Learned Things I've Learned

Author:Jeremy Rifkin

“The American public is not aware that there might be potential allergenic and toxic reactions. With regular food, at least people know which foods they have an allergy to.”

People Knows Might Economy Reactions Toxic Allergies

Author:Jeremy Rifkin