In the Courts

Supreme Court Justices' Recent Remarks and Essays on Security, Liberty and International Law

From time to time, Supreme Court justices weigh in outside the courtroom on key questions in international law, and the role of the courts in national security issues. Here are some of their key speeches from recent years.

Former Justice O’Connor in the Wall Street Journal In a September 2006 op-ed, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor criticizes movements to limit judicial independence and warns of growing intimidation and threats against judges.

Justice Scalia at the American Enterprise Institute
In his February 2006 speech at the American Enterprise Institute, Justice Scalia criticizes U.S. reliance on foreign law in judicial opinions and in interpreting the U.S. Constitution.

Justice Ginsburg at the Constitutional Court of South Africa
In her February 2006 speech at the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Justice Ginsburg criticizes proposals from Republicans in Congress that would condemn or bar the citation of foreign law in Supreme Court constitutional rulings, saying the proposals fuel an “irrational fringe.”

Debate between Justice Breyer and Justice Scalia
In this January 13, 2005 debate at the U.S. Association of Constitutional Law Discussion, Justices Breyer and Scalia debate the constitutional relevance of foreign court decisions.

Justice Kennedy at the 2003 American Bar Association
In his American Bar Association speech in 2003, Justice Kennedy discusses the injustices and inadequacies of the prison and corrections systems as well as the need for more education concerning freedom and democracy.

Justice Breyer before the Association of the Bar of the City of New York in 2003
In his speech, "Liberty, Security, and the Courts,” before the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Justice Breyer puts forth a set of judicial decision-making principles addressing terrorism-related cases and makes specific reference to the facts of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay and the enemy combatant cases of Yaser Hamdi and Jose Padilla.

Justice Ginsburg’s 2003 Sherman J. Bellwood Lecture
In the 2003 Sherman J. Bellwood Lecture, “Looking Beyond Our Borders,” Justice Ginsburg describes and prescribes a greater familiarity with and reliance on other countries’ legal systems.

Justice O’Connor at the Southern Center for International Studies in 2003
In a 2003 speech at the Southern Center for International Studies, Justice O’Connor discussed the concept of “transjudicialism,” and advocated a more robust use of international law by American courts.

Justice Breyer at the 2003 meeting of the American Society of International
Law Meeting
Justice Breyer, in his 2003 American Society of International Law Meeting speech, "The Supreme Court and the New International Law", argues that American courts must and should increasingly rely on international law to aid their own jurisprudence.

Justice O’Connor at the 2002 meeting of the American Society of International Law
In her keynote address before the 2002 meeting of the American Society of International Law, Justice O’Connor discusses the increasing importance of international law to American law.

Justice Breyer at the Summit of World Bar Leaders in 2001
In a 2001 speech at the Summit of World Bar Leaders, Justice Breyer discussed the importance of detailed legal work in balancing liberty with security at times of national peril.

Chief Justice Rehnquist at the 100th anniversary celebration of the Norfolk
and Portsmouth Bar Association in 2000
At the 100th anniversary celebration of the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association in 2000, Chief Justice Rehnquist discusses the issue of civil liberties in wartime, focusing on the Civil War and World War II. The remarks are a brief synopsis of his larger work, All the Laws But One: Civil Liberties in Wartime.