"Thus viewed, law as it exists in the modern community may be conveniently, although perhaps not comprehensively, defined as the sum total of all those rules of conduct for which there is state sanction."

Harlan F. Stone Law See all quotes by Harlan F. Stone →

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More by Harlan F. Stone

“The law itself is on trial in every case as well as the cause before it.”

“Distinctions between citizens solely because of their ancestry are by their very nature odious to a free people whose institutions are founded upon the doctrine of equality.”

“To say that only those businesses affected with a public interest may be regulated is but another way of stating that all those businesses which may be regulated are affected with a public interest.”

“The amendment states but a truism that all is retained which has not been surrendered.”

“History teaches us that there have been but few infringements of personal liberty by the state which have not been justified, as they are here, in the name of righteousness and the public good, and few which have not been directed, as they are now, at politically helpless minorities.”

“The Stone Court, 1941-1945, History of the Court, Supreme Court Historical Society”

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