Jeff Sessions

I hope you know, and I think you do, that once you assume that role your own personal sense of discipline, responsibility and integrity is what constrains you from abusing the office.

I also propose that the rule of law is best preserved by a model of judicial restraint, and that the executive and legislative branches are in the best position to make policy judgments.

I do not believe that you can, because you feel a law is unjust, look to international sources.

Judicial restraint is intended to assure that decisions are not based upon personal values or preferences but are instead made according to law.

I agree with you that that disparity is too great and have offered legislation for almost 10 years now to fix it.

I took an oath to defend, obey, and show true faith and allegiance to it.

I don't really wish to get in a tit-for-tat over the confirmations.

I would not favor reduction of funding for that. In fact, I would think there are many areas that are less priority than the drug courts.

I truly believe that that was as much a part of the reduction in drug use by youth as anything that occurred.

With regard to the President's statement on empathy, Justice Sotomayor, when asked about his standard, replied, 'We apply law to facts, we don't apply feelings to facts.' I thought that was what a judge does.

I think your answer is respectful of the Constitution.

There's always people that just think that if we could just legalize all this, the problems would go away. But that's not so.

Some people were critical of President Reagan's war on drugs and Just Say No program, but I was there.

You will take the oath to do equal justice to the poor and the rich and to be impartial.

I appreciate, I think, a sincere commitment on your part to treat the litigants fairly and objectively and to render a decision based on the law and the facts, and comply with the oath, which is to be impartial.

A lot of the money that goes to Office of Justice Programs... are earmarked or directed to things other than research and development?

I am absolutely convinced, from my experience, that the fact that we have a lot of people in jail for fairly long periods of time has been a factor in--the predominant factor, in my view, in that decline in crime.

I think this is an important office that you're about to be a part of.

I think the judges that have grown up under it feel real comfortable with it and I think most of them try to follow it whenever possible.

I was rather flabbergasted when the Supreme Court declared them advisory, and still remain so.

I also appreciate your willingness to examine, Mr. Chairman, the operation and structure of Office of Justice Programs.

I always thought that was pretty commonsensical.

We need not go back to the situation in which two defendants are in the courthouse and one is down the hall before Judge X and one before Judge Y and they get five times the sentence for the same offense.

I have supported substantial reductions in the crack cocaine penalties and I am working with a number of people to see if we can reach an accord.

But with the deficit we are facing, I do not think we are likely to see any huge increases.