“It would then be most admirably adapted to the purposes of justice, if laws properly enacted were, as far as circumstances admitted, of themselves to mark out all cases, and to abandon as few as possible to the discretion of the judge.” IfsLawPurposeJusticeCasesJudgingCircumstancesMarkAbandonDiscretionAdapted Book:Aristotle's Treatise on Rhetoric Source: Aristotle's Treatise on Rhetoric
“Courts are the mere instruments of the law, and can will nothing. When they are said to exercise a discretion, it is a mere legal discretion, a discretion to be exercised in discerning the course prescribed by law; and, when that is discerned, it is the duty of the Court to follow it. Judicial power is never exericised for the purpose of giving effect to the will of the Judge; always for the purpose of giving effect to the will of the Legislature; or, in other words, to the will of the law.” GivingSaidLawPurposeCoursesEffectsJudgingDutyExerciseInstrumentsCourtMereLegislatureDiscretionJudicialDiscerningJudicial Power Author:John Marshall
“Have you not observed that there is a lower kind of discretion and regularity, which seldom fails of raising men to the highest station in the court, the church, and the law?” MenKindLawChurchFailingTalentHighestCourtStationsDiscretionRegularity Book:Epistolary correspondence. Letters from August 1714, to September 1724 Source: Epistolary correspondence. Letters from August 1714, to September 1724