The critical point is that the Constitution places the right of silence beyond the reach of government.
William O. Douglas

Common sense often makes good law.
William O. Douglas

The Constitution is not neutral. It was designed to take the government off the backs of people.
William O. Douglas

The 5th Amendment is an old friend and a good friend. one of the great landmarks in men's struggle to be free of tyranny, to be decent and civilized.
William O. Douglas

Free speech is not to be regulated like diseased cattle and impure butter. The audience that hissed yesterday may applaud today, even for the same performance.
William O. Douglas

The association promotes a way of life, not causes; a harmony in living, not political faiths; a bilateral loyalty, not commercial or social projects. Yet it is an association for as noble a purpose as any involved in any prior decisions.
William O. Douglas

The right to be let alone is indeed the beginning of all freedoms.
William O. Douglas

At the constitutional level where we work, 90 percent of any decision is emotional. The rational part of us supplies the reasons for supporting our predilections.
William O. Douglas