Time & Perspective Quote by Harold H. Greene

A judge rarely narrates a decision like a prophecy, but Harold H. Greene does exactly that here, and the confidence is the point. The quote is built on a stacking rhythm of certainties: right decree, proper modifications, correct outcome, inevitable vindication. It reads less like neutral adjudication and more like a public brief for history, the kind of language you use when you know your ruling will be attacked in real time and only defensible in hindsight.

Greene is most legible in the shadow of what he’s remembered for: the antitrust breakup of AT&T and the consent decree that restructured American telecommunications. “Decree” isn’t abstract; it’s a lever on an entire industry, a reset of how power and infrastructure flow. By insisting he held the “position from day one,” Greene signals awareness of the political economy swirling around the bench: corporations, regulators, consumer advocates, and lawmakers all trying to frame the ruling as either overreach or liberation.

The subtext is institutional self-protection and moral authority at once. He’s not just saying, “I was right.” He’s saying, “The court’s legitimacy is measured over time, not in the outrage cycle.” “In due time” is a rebuke to contemporary critics and a wager on consequences: lower prices, competition, innovation, a more plural market. The closing line, “And it has become apparent,” is restrained triumphalism - a judge claiming that outcomes have ratified process, and that history has quietly signed the opinion.