It is the police of America who are on the front lines, who are on the streets, who are in the daily contact with American citizens, who translate the dreams of American citizens when they succeed and frustrate the dreams when they fail.
I want to make sure there are no gatekeepers at the AG's door, and that anybody in the Department - they may have to come relatively late in the evening, just judging by the schedules to date - but if somebody has suggestions for how to make this a better department, that they know I am available.
I think, clearly, where you have a situation in which the Solicitor General tells me, 'I cannot in good faith argue a certainly legal position,' and if the president told us to argue that position, we would have to tell him, 'No, we can't do that, Mr. President.'
If you have a good community behind you and a good family supporting you, then, when the buck stops with you, there is the strength of that community and that family to draw upon.
One of the most important parts of my life has been community.
We have initiated programs for re-entry offenders, since some 500,000 to 600,000 offenders will come out of prison each year for the next three or four years. We want to have positive alternatives when they come back to the community.
The Justice Department is staunchly committed to ensuring that all Americans are treated in a fair and just manner.
The keystone to justice is the belief that the legal system treats all fairly.
Anybody that thought that I tried to protect the president has forgotten that I asked for the expansion of the Monica Lewinsky matter.
We tried our best for the longest time to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the matter, and at each step, we were thwarted by those that said, No, we will not turn the boy over to his father.
Peer mediation is a chance for students to work with other students to help them resolve problems, arguments, disagreements without having to get the teacher or the administration involved.
We've got to make sure that the young, violent, serious juvenile offender is punished, that it's fair punishment, that it's punishment that fits the crime and that is understood and that is anticipated and expected.
What has too often happened in the past is that people have threatened punishment but have failed to carry it out. It's imperative in any initiative that is undertaken that punishment be real and that there be truth in sentencing, and that the truly dangerous offenders - the recidivists and the career criminals - be put away and kept away.
I think the answer to civil disorder in America, the answer to police problems in America, the answer to jail overcrowding and all the problems that we see is - the one answer is that government must go back to its people.
At this moment I do not have a personal relationship with a computer.
I'm humbled by the honor that President Clinton has done me in nominatinq me as Attorney General of the United States, and I'm going to do my very best to deserve his confidence.
Diversity is valued, and it is prized. We learn to appreciate each other and each other's struggles. From diversity, we draw our enormous and our lasting strength.
Being a lawyer is not merely a vocation. It is a public trust, and each of us has an obligation to give back to our communities.
I have learned that raising children is the single most difficult thing in the world to do. It takes hard work, love, luck, and a lot of energy, and it is the most rewarding experience that you can ever have.
The lawyers who really begin to address the problems of their clients address them without recourse to our courts, although that recourse is absolutely essential in providing leverage.
