Some may more quietly commemorate the suffering, struggle, and sacrifice that has triumphed over much of what was wrong with the original document, and observe the anniversary with hopes not realized and promises not fulfilled. I plan to celebrate the bicentennial of the Constitution as a living document, including the Bill of Rights and the other amendments protecting individual freedoms and human rights.

Our Constitution is the envy of the world, as it should be for it is the grand design of the finest nation on earth.

To the contrary, the government they devised was defective from the start, requiring several amendments, a civil war and momentous social transformation to attain the system of constitutional government, and its respect for the individual freedoms and human rights, we hold as fundamental today.

The death penalty is no more effective a deterrent than life imprisonment... It is also evident that the burden of capital punishment falls upon the poor, the ignorant and the underprivileged members of society.

Classifications and distinctions based on race or color have no moral or legal validity in our society. They are contrary to our constitution and laws.

None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.

Mere access to the courthouse doors does not by itself assure a proper functioning of the adversary process.