I want to commend the [Federalist] Society for bringing together the best minds from right, left, and center to debate the most pressing legal issues of the day.

My mother worked for more than a decade before marrying. She went to New York City to get a master's degree. And she continued to work as a teacher and a principal until she was forced to retire.Both she and my father instilled in my sister and me a deep love of learning.

The most important quality for a judge is open- mindedness to the arguments.

I'm not any kind of a bigot, I'm not...

It was a time of turmoil at colleges and universities. And I saw some very smart people and very privileged people behaving irresponsibly. And I couldn't help making a contrast between some of the worst of what I saw on the campus and the good sense and the decency of the people back in my own community.

If you want know what sort of a justice I would make, then look at what sort of a judge I have been.

I learned that hard work and self-discipline can overcome many obstacles.