Profoundly inspirational justice quotes will challenge the way you think, and make your life worth living.
Famous Justice Quotes
I will not attempt to deny the reasonableness and necessity of a party war; but in carrying on that war all principles and rules of justice should not be departed from. — Robert Walpole
Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life . . . — Nelson Mandela
Research confirms that both Republican and Democratic women are more likely than their male counterparts to initiate and fight for bills that champion social justice, protect the environment, advocate for families, and promote nonviolent conflict resolution. — Dee Dee Myers
If Al Gore had allowed us and if the Florida Supreme Court had not intervened and rewritten the law, which theyre not supposed to do, we could have certified, which is a mere procedural action, and then after that, they could have petitioned any justice for a recount statewide with uniform standards. — Katherine Harris
The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them. — Lois McMaster Bujold
The death penalty, I think, is a terrible scar on American justice, especially the concept of equal justice under law, but also of due process. And it goes state by state, and it’s different in different states. — Burke Marshall
I went into journalism to learn the craft of writing and to get close to the world I wanted to write about — police and criminals, the criminal justice system, — Michael Connelly
And if you ask again whether there is any justice in the world, you’ll have to be satisfied with the reply: Not for the time being; at any rate, not up to this Friday. — Alfred Doblin
In remembering those who lost their lives in the London attacks and the September 11th attacks we continue our commitment to fighting for freedom, democracy and justice. — Doc Hastings
Freedom is not worth fighting for if it means no more than license for everyone to get as much as he can for himself. — Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The freer that women become, the freer men will be. Because when you enslave someone, you are enslaved. — Louise Berliawsky Nevelson
We made history when President Obama appointed Sonia Sotomayor, a proud Latina, the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. And as the President likes to say, ‘Every single one of them wasn’t just the best Latino for the job, but the best person for the job.’ — Charlie Gonzalez
I see that the path of progress has never taken a straight line, but has always been a zigzag course amid the conflicting forces of right and wrong, truth and error, justice and injustice, cruelty and mercy. — Kelly Miller
Satan tries to counterfeit the work of God, and by doing this, he may deceive many. To make us lose hope, feel miserable like himself, and believe that we are beyond forgiveness, Satan might even misuse words from the scriptures that emphasize the justice of God in order to imply that there is no mercy. — Dieter F. Uchtdorf
There is a point at which the law becomes immoral and unethical. That point is reached when it becomes a cloak for the cowardice that dares not stand up against blatant violations of justice. — Kurt Huber
Justice is not to be taken by storm. She is to be wooed by slow advances. — Benjamin Cardozo
Finally, a good prosecutor knows that her job is to enforce the law without fear or favor. Likewise, a Supreme Court Justice must interpret the laws without fear or favor. — Amy Klobuchar
A Code of Honor: Never approach a friend’s girlfriend or wife with mischief as your goal. There are just too many women in the world to justify that sort of dishonorable behavior. Unless she’s really attractive. — Bruce Jay Friedman
Everything will change. The only question is growing up or decaying. — Nikki Giovanni
Those who today still feel a sense of impotence can do something: they can support Amnesty International. They can help it to stand up for freedom and justice. — Peter Benenson
Men are mad most of their lives; few live sane, fewer die so. The acts of people are baffling unless we realize that their wits are disordered. Man is driven to justice by his lunacy. — Edward Dahlberg
Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. — Nelson Mandela
I seek truth over a lie; I seek justice over injustice; I seek righteousness over the rewards of evildoers, and I love Allah more than I love the state. — H. Rap Brown
Unlike a lot of people, I don’t feel powerless. I know I can do something. But anyone can do something, it’s not about being special. It’s about deciding to do it – to dive into work for peace and justice and care for everybody on the planet. — Patch Adams
Now all we need is to continue to speak the truth fearlessly, and we shall add to our number those who will turn the scale to the side of equal and full justice in all things. — Lucy Stone
To me, I think justice is part of forgiving, if it is well done with love. — Immaculee Ilibagiza
It is impossible to tell where the law stops and justice begins. — Arthur Baer
Before we decide to trust you with this power, we ask you to stand before the public and explain your views. Justice may be blind, but it should not be deaf. — Herb Kohl
The challenge of social justice is to evoke a sense of community that we need to make our nation a better place, just as we make it a safer place. — Marian Wright Edelman
Applications for loans would be judged on a nation’s social justice record as well as its economic efficiency. — Lewis Thompson Preston
I am unjust, but I can strive for justice. My life’s unkind, but I can vote for kindness. I, the unloving, say life should be lovely. I, that am blind, cry out against my blindness. — Vachel Lindsay
They still don’t want to admit to the world that this isn’t the best and the fairest and most equal justice system. And that they are guilty of railroading people into jail. They don’t want to, or never will, admit these things. — Leonard Peltier
When it comes to the cause of justice, I take no prisoners and I don’t believe in compromise. — Mary Frances Berry
I represented many of these kids as they become young adults in the criminal justice system when I was a public defender. One way of reaching out is by the mind of experimentation. — Matt Gonzalez
I have loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore I die in exile. — Pope Gregory VII
One pits his wits against apparently inscrutable nature, wooing her with ardor but nature is blind justice who cannot recognize personal identity. — Charles Brenton Huggins
Who thinks the law has anything to do with justice? It’s what we have because we can’t have justice. — William McIlvanney
The age of chivalry has gone; the age of humanity has come. — Charles Sumner
Who ever walked behind anyone to freedom? If we can’t go hand in hand, I don’t want to go. — Hazel Scott
The young people of India will build a strong and powerful nation, a nation that is politically mature and economically strong, a nation whose people enjoy both a high quality of life as well as justice. — Pranab Mukherjee
A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit. — D. Elton Trueblood
At a time when efforts are being made to eradicate discrimination between the sexes in the search for social equality and justice, the differences between the sexes are being rediscovered. — Carol Gilligan
I have a brain and a uterus, and I use both. — Patricia Schroeder
After graduation, I wanted to work for ‘Sassy’, which I loved, but it had folded. So I wound up at ‘Seventeen’ for three years on staff and two as a contributor, and I wrote these great stories that nobody ever believes ‘Seventeen’ does. Serious stories for teens about social justice issues – gun control, migrant farm workers. — Gayle Forman
Hollywood is in somewhat the same position as Las Vegas these days. It went from being the capital of sin to Disneyland, and now it’s landed somewhere in between. It tries to keep the sins hidden away and outwardly present itself as a defender of American virtues: justice, individual freedom, and the power of one innocent soul to save the world. — Hanna Rosin
American decision-makers must understand how damaging a foreign policy that privileges order and profit over justice really is in the long term. — Samantha Power
We shall never achieve harmony with land, any more than we shall achieve absolute justice or liberty for people. In these higher aspirations, the important thing is not to achieve but to strive. — Aldo Leopold
Soon after I returned to private practice, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger called me one day. — Fred F. Fielding
As a lawyer, as a private citizen, you see a lot of injustice. You see a lot of people who should have been punished and are not, and people who were punished wrongfully are not vindicated. Fiction is sort of a way to set the record straight, and let people at least believe that justice can be achieved and the right outcomes can occur. — David Baldacci
It’s hard to get justice in the real world. It’s possible in fiction. — Lauren Beukes
We must always refill and ensure there is a critical mass of leaders and activists committed to nonviolence and racial and economic justice who will keep seeding and building transforming movements. — Marian Wright Edelman
As a former attorney general. I have the greatest respect for the criminal justice system. But it is not good at intelligence gathering. — Kelly Ayotte
For neither life nor nature cares if justice is ever done or not. — Patricia Highsmith
Almost certainly, however, the first essential component of social justice is adequate food for all mankind. — Norman Borlaug
Finally, in conclusion, let me say just this. — Peter Sellers
When there is life and mankind, a person will live striving for good deeds, liberty and a bright life, and wish that goodness and justice will reign in the world. — Islom Karimov
I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it’s for or against. — Malcolm X
Revolution begins with the self, in the self. — Toni Cade Bambara
It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive. — Earl Warren
Justice is sweet and musical; but injustice is harsh and discordant. — Henry David Thoreau
Justice is better than chivalry if we cannot have both. — Alice Stone Blackwell
The American flag is an enduring symbol of liberty, democracy, and justice. It is fitting that the House act to protect it as we approach our nation’s birthday, and as our men and women in uniform rally behind it in Iraq’s battlefields. — Joey Barton
I want to extend my gratitude and thankfulness to all those who care and love my family and myself, and our situation, especially the American people who show their care about the quality of justice as a universal value and I’m very grateful to all of you. — Chen Guangcheng
Canada is the homeland of equality, justice and tolerance. — Kim Campbell
The idea of determinism combined with complete human responsibility struck me as very hard to reconcile with an idea of justice, let alone mercy. — Ken MacLeod
The criminal justice system, like any system designed by human beings, clearly has its flaws. — Ben Whishaw
I’ve always been driven by the concept of equal justice under the law, but only the rich can pay great sums of money for legal assistance and that puts them at an advantage over the poor. — Samuel Dash
There can be hope only for a society which acts as one big family, not as many separate ones. — Anwar Sadat
I love judges, and I love courts. They are my ideals, that typify on earth what we shall meet hereafter in heaven under a just God. — William Howard Taft
Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship and strengthen governance. — Ban Ki-moon
One of the great things about young people is that they do question, that they do care deeply about justice, and they they have open minds. — Zack de la Rocha
China has not established the rule of law and if there is a power above the law there is no social justice. Everybody can be subjected to harm. I’m just a citizen: my life is equal in value to any other. But I’m thankful that when I lost my freedom so many people shared feelings and put such touching effort into helping me. — Ai Weiwei
The goal of the EU is to form a region of freedom, security and justice. Freedom in this connection cannot be just the freedom of the strong, but it must be combined with fraternity and equality. — Tarja Halonen
I think it’s important for us as a society to remember that the youth within juvenile justice systems are, most of the time, youths who simply haven’t had the right mentors and supporters around them – because of circumstances beyond their control. — Q’orianka Kilcher
We all say no to war, we are all for justice and peace. But sometimes in order to maintain peace, armed action is necessary. But we hope it won’t be the case. — Silvio Berlusconi
The peace and justice movement has to expand and not run away from the plight of gang members. — Tom Hayden
Clouds and darkness surround us, yet Heaven is just, and the day of triumph will surely come, when justice and truth will be vindicated. Our wrongs will be made right, and we will once more taste the blessings of freedom — Mary Todd Lincoln
When we talk about justice in America we’re really talking about justice brought about by the people, not by judges who are tools of the establishment or prosecutors who are are equally tools of the establishment or the wardens or the police officers. — William Kunstler
Once I should have been, if not satisfied, partially, at least, contented with suffrage for the intelligent and those who have been soldiers; now I am convinced that universal suffrage is demanded by sound policy and impartial justice. — Salmon P. Chase
The most important thing is the indigenous people are not vindictive by nature. We are not here to oppress anybody – but to join together and build Bolivia, with justice and equality. — Evo Morales
I have been singing for the last 50 years, you know, so I deserve a break. Besides, there are talented singers around who can do justice to their work. — Lata Mangeshkar
I don’t mind expressing my opinions and speaking out against injustice. I would be doing this even if I wasn’t a writer. I grew up in a household that believed in social justice. I have always understood myself as having an obligation to stand on the side of the silenced, the oppressed, and the mistreated. — Tayari Jones
Majorities, as such, afford no guarantees for justice. They are men of the same nature as minorities. They have the same passions for fame, power, and money, as minorities; and are liable and likely to be equally – perhaps more than equally, because more boldly – rapacious, tyrannical and unprincipled, if intrusted with power. — Lysander Spooner
But I have always said that it’s important we must make sure that justice is at all time be maintained. — Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
You have to stand guard over the development and maintenance of Islamic democracy, Islamic social justice and the equality of manhood in your own native soil. — Muhammad Ali Jinnah
There was an old man with a beard, who said: ‘It is just as I feared! Two owls and a hen, four larks and a wren have all built their nests in my beard. — Edward Lear
Being a good neighbour is about compassion, which is as warm-blooded as justice is cool-headed. — Julian Baggini
If there is any justice in the world, then eighties rock will never again serve to blight humanity as it did in that dark decade! — Vivian Campbell
It is justice, not charity, that is wanting in the world. — Mary Wollstonecraft
Social justice is what drives me; it’s why I’m here. — Kathleen Wynne
Justice has nothing to do with victor nations and vanquished nations, but must be a moral standard that all the world’s peoples can agree to. To seek this and to achieve it – that is true civilization — Hideki Tojo
I would have the Constitution torn in shreds and scattered to the four winds of heaven. Let us destroy the Constitution and build on its ruins the temple of liberty. I have brothers in slavery. I have seen chains placed on their limbs and beheld them captive. — William Wells Brown
The next few months are critical to Pakistan’s future direction as a democratic state committed to promoting peace, fighting terrorism and working for social justice. — Benazir Bhutto
I find the idea of vigilante justice very attractive. I like the idea that the murderer decides that this person has gone too far, and nothing will happen to him unless she does something to stop him. — Donna Leon
Honest people, mistakenly believing in the justice of their cause, are led to support injustice. — Elihu Root
‘Empathy’ is the latest code word for liberal activism, for treating the Constitution as malleable clay to be kneaded and molded in whatever form justices want. It represents an expansive view of the judiciary in which courts create policy that couldn’t pass the legislative branch or, if it did, would generate voter backlash. — Karl Rove
When you’re fighting for economic and social justice, you’re always fighting for the minority. — Bob Kerrey
The function of the law is not to provide justice or to preserve freedom. The function of the law is to keep those who hold power, in power. — Gerry Spence
There are people who can never forgive a beggar for their not having given him anything. — Karl Kraus
You just activated a nuclear warhead, my friend. — John Travolta
