Law Schools

At Least One Supreme Court Justice Still Cares About The Rule Of Law

Something important for law school graduates in this day and age to remember.

[The rule of law] means sometimes you have to accept decisions you think are wrong, and if it’s 5-4 in our court, somebody’s wrong. You accept it or not. You think it’s important or not. It’s easy to think it’s important when you agree with a decision. Not quite so easy when you don’t. But that’s the time when the chips are down for the rule of law.

— Justice Stephen Breyer, in a commancement speech given before graduates of New York Law School at Carnegie Hall this past Friday. In his remarks, Justice Breyer also told graduates that they are “going into a great profession,” but to make sure they “find the time to participate in public life.”


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.