Edwin Meese

“What we need is a jurisprudence of original intention.”

“A jurisprudence of original intention would be a jurisprudence of restraint.”

“It is a cornerstone of our constitutional jurisprudence that the states are sovereign entities, not mere appendages of the federal government.”

“Critics of the originalist approach to constitutional interpretation often claim that it is a philosophy of nostalgia. It is not.”

“You don't have many suspects who are innocent of a crime.”

“The Constitution does not grant the Supreme Court the sole power to interpret the Constitution.”

“The civil rights movement would have been abortive without the civil rights division of the Justice Department.”

“The Bill of Rights is a bill of rights against the government.”

“I think it's necessary to have a tough, adversarial prosecuting attorney.”

“If a person is innocent of a crime, then he is not a suspect.”

“The idea of a 'living Constitution' is one of the most dangerous legal philosophies of our time.”

“We are not a nation of men, we are a nation of laws.”