2007-01-29 21:02:39 · 7 answers · asked by bettysdad 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Other - Politics & Government
Most of them are. We left the old country due to their crazy laws and bans. We won the war yet the old ways of thinking still exist.
2007-01-29 21:07:42 · answer #1 · answered by Stop_the_Klan@yahoo.com 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Any judge can be an activist if they allow their ideologies to over rule their sense of law. Judges should be strict Constitutionalists. They should not allow their personal feelings and motivations to effect their decisions. Judges have immense power in this country. Extremely partisan right wing judges can be every bit as dangerous as their extreme left wing counterparts. I think most people recognize this fact and this is the reason why most people tend to favor moderates, especially on the Supreme Court.
2007-01-29 21:15:33 · answer #2 · answered by Bryan 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I'm sure it's happened, but this is mainly a liberal phenomena.
Judges are supposed to limit themselves to being referees. They're not allowed to legislate from the bench, but they can offer interpretations of existing law where the law isn't clear.
Any judge who goes beyond interpretation can be labeled "activist", though the term really only fits when there's a current hot-button issue, like abortion, that is clearly the judge's agenda to influence.
2007-01-29 21:17:30 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes. The judge in the Schiavo case is a good example; he's a conservative Republican, although the involuntary euthanasia agenda he promotes is traditionally associated with the left. Judge Roy Moore could be considered an activist, except that his activism doesn't seem to have affected his judicial decisions.
2007-01-29 21:10:31 · answer #4 · answered by dukefenton 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Sure.
I define "activist" as someone who misinterprets the law or the Constitution to reach a desired result.
Judges do not decide what is a "good" law or a "bad" law.
They simply decide how to apply the laws as written, and whether a law is constitutional or not.
We have legislators to make our laws.
2007-01-29 23:43:29 · answer #5 · answered by American citizen and taxpayer 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Generally, no. It could happen but traditional conservatives tend to read and follow the constitution in their rulings as opposed to fabricating rights and disregarding others like the wacko liberal judges do.
2007-01-30 08:19:19 · answer #6 · answered by politicsforthefuture 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
of course. If his or her feelings influence and thus impede their interpretation of the law.
2007-01-29 21:06:53 · answer #7 · answered by Baron Von B. S. 1 · 4⤊ 0⤋