flaja
08-21-2007, 02:17 PM
The political right and libertarians in this country constantly complain about “liberal” judges legislating from the bench rather than upholding the Constitution.
Can any conservative or libertarian here give some examples of how judges have legislated from the bench? Are there concrete examples of how this has happened, or is the claim just campaign rhetoric?
And if liberals on the bench have been “activist” judges, and the right says activism is bad, how will any of these activist rulings ever be overturned if conservatives don’t engage in some activism of their own? Conservatives often complain that “we cannot do such-and-such until we can appoint some more judges to the bench and get the courts to change their mind”. But, isn’t this simply a campaign ploy whereby conservatives can say they want something, but then never take the responsibility for achieving it?
Can any conservative or libertarian here give some examples of how judges have legislated from the bench? Are there concrete examples of how this has happened, or is the claim just campaign rhetoric?
And if liberals on the bench have been “activist” judges, and the right says activism is bad, how will any of these activist rulings ever be overturned if conservatives don’t engage in some activism of their own? Conservatives often complain that “we cannot do such-and-such until we can appoint some more judges to the bench and get the courts to change their mind”. But, isn’t this simply a campaign ploy whereby conservatives can say they want something, but then never take the responsibility for achieving it?