Judicial activism and the Supreme Court
Judicial activism refers to the practice where courts, particularly the Supreme Court, interpret laws and the Constitution in ways that can alter or invalidate policies set by elected officials, such as Congress or the President. This concept often carries a negative connotation, particularly among critics who argue that courts should exercise restraint in striking down democratically enacted laws. The debate over judicial activism frequently centers on the balance between protecting minority rights and adhering to the perceived original intent of the Constitution. Landmark cases like Roe v. Wade and Brown v. Board of Education illustrate the Court's role in redefining constitutional interpretations, which some view as necessary for progress while others criticize as overreach. Throughout history, the Supreme Court has been seen as both liberal and conservative in its activism, reflecting the shifting political landscape. Recent decisions have reignited discussions about the extent of judicial power, particularly in contentious areas such as reproductive rights, gun control, and the separation of church and state. The ongoing discourse underscores the complex relationship between the judiciary, democratic governance, and societal values.
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Judicial activism and the Supreme Court
Definition: Term applied to court decisions seen as going beyond the usual canons of constitutional or statutory interpretation; it is the opposite of judicial self-restraint.
Significance: When the Supreme Court engaged in judicial activism, it made important and often controversial public policy and was a major player in shaping national policies.
The term can be applied to any decision in which the Court alters or nullifies the policy of another policymaker, such as Congress or the president. Judicial activism occurs whenever the Court exercises judicial review or interprets a constitutional or statutory provision to mean something different than it was commonly thought to mean. Typically, however, the term is used negatively by critics of a Court decision or doctrine. Few justices or judges overtly champion judicial activism.
Sometimes the Court is criticized as being too counter-majoritarian. As an unelected body, critics charge, the Court should be cautious about finding laws adopted by democratically elected bodies unconstitutional. The classic arguments on this issue are found in Justice Robert H. Jackson’s opinion and Justice Felix Frankfurter’s dissent in the compulsory flag salute case, West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943). The preferred freedoms doctrine of the 1940s and its modern counterpart, the strict scrutiny level of review, also represent counter-majoritarian activism because they consciously place minority rights ahead of majority preferences.
Critics also charge the Court with activism when it interprets a constitutional provision differently from its presumed original intent or the normal meaning of its text. Roe v. Wade (1973) is a good example of the Court’s giving a new meaning to the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause. Another example of this type of activism is Justices William J. Brennan, Jr., and Thurgood Marshall’s finding that capital punishment is unconstitutional. (The latter’s dissent in Gregg v. Georgia, 1976, is a good illustration of an activist opinion.) Brennan generally defended judicial activism (although not by name) when he argued that the spirit of constitutional provisions must be interpreted to apply to the United States in the twentieth century. Occasionally the Court is charged with judicial activism when it overrules or severely modifies one of its own precedents (for example, when Brown v. Board of Education, 1954, overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896).
Judicial activism can help both conservative and liberal causes. From 1890 to 1937, when the Court appeared to support business interests by developing the freedom of contract and dual federalism doctrines (as in Lochner v. New York, 1905, and Hammer v. Dagenhart, 1918), Progressives and later New Dealers protested loudly that the Court was engaged in excessive activism. Under Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953-1969), the shoe was on the other foot. Conservatives charged the Court with liberal activism for making controversial decisions that significantly reshaped the law in criminal justice, legislative apportionment, right of privacy, libel, and other areas. Although less activist following the Warren era, the Court still engaged in some activism, such as bringing commercial speech under First Amendment protection. However, some 1990s decisions were activist in a conservative sense, for example, Printz v. United States (1997), which struck down portions of the 1993 Brady Act controlling the sale of handguns.
In 2022, the Supreme Court was widely seen as making decisions steeped in judicial activism that exacerbated already deep divides on important issues for many Americans. The most striking was the Court’s actions to overturn Roe v. Wade. However, the conservative majority Court also practiced judicial activism in cases on gun laws, the separation of church and state, and the environment.
Bibliography
Bork, Robert H., ed. “A Country I Do Not Recognize”: The Legal Assault on American Values. Stanford, Calif.: Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 2005.
Keck, Thomas Moylan The Most Activist Supreme Court in History: The Road to Modern Judicial Conservatism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Powers, Stephen. The Least Dangerous Branch? Consequences of Judicial Activism. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2002.
Rosen, Jeffrey. The Most Democratic Branch: How the Courts Serve America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Schwartz, Herman, ed. The Rehnquist Court: Judicial Activism on the Right. New York: Hill & Wang, 2002.
“The Supreme Court's Judicial Activism Will Deepen Cracks in America.” The Economist, 29 June 2022, www.economist.com/leaders/2022/06/29/the-supreme-courts-judicial-activism-will-deepen-cracks-in-america. Accessed 5 Apr. 2023.
Tushnet, Mark. A Court Divided: The Rehnquist Court and the Future of Constitutional Law. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005.
Wolfe, Christopher. Judicial Activism: Bulwark of Freedom or Precarious Security? Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997.