activist judge

Related to activist judge: activist justice

activist judge

A judge or justice (particularly of the US Supreme Court) who rules in accordance with their personal ideology rather than with how the law is strictly written; often used in a derogatory or pejorative sense. Primarily heard in US, South Africa. Many attributed the strict environmental rulings to the activist judge who was appointed last November and is known for his love of nature.
See also: activist, judge
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • activist
  • a blue-eyed boy
  • dikey
  • dykey
  • chaser
  • ambulance
  • ambulance chaser
  • an ambulance chaser
  • the chattering classes
References in periodicals archive
(10) Indeed, in the heyday of judicial activism in the Mason Court, it was clear that even the most activist judges often decided cases with a strict legalist bent.
This is an activist judge who has delusions of grandeur."
I also worry about the possibility of several Supreme Court resignations and that the new appointments will be activist judges.
Otherwise, we allow a few activist judges and elitist county commissioners to define marriage however they see fit.
Republicans and other pro-life activists hoped that activist judges would utilize a court-created innovation called the "incorporation doctrine." The incorporation doctrine is a legal fiction introduced in the 1920s, five decades after the 14th Amendment was ratified.
"By passing the Love Life Amendment, we can make sure that activist judges will never protect abortion by using the Louisiana Constitution."
When asked what kind of supreme court justices he'd nominate, back when he was running for president in 2000, Bush said simply: "I don't believe in liberal activist judges. I believe in strict constructionists."
Instead, he said Democratic lawmakers were "seeking to undo legislative decisions they disagree with by turning to activist judges" and accused Democrats of fueling the voting rights dispute with "phony cries of racism."
In fulfillment of Jefferson's warning that judges "would become despots" if allowed unilateral authority to interpret the Constitution, there seems today to be a constant flow of activist judges who read into both the law and the Constitution what they want to see there.
This has led to activist judges such as Moro and others to take swift legal steps to try and stop what they see as corrupt politicians literally trying to get away with murder.
The GOP's familiar complaint against activist judges such as Scalia has receded as its opposition to an activist president such as Obama has intensified.
About a year ago, one of our state senators wrote an opinion piece as a Star Ledger Guest Columnist entitled, "Activist Judges Need To Be Held Accountable." The senator wrote:
"There can be no activist judges from any political party," Macri said.
Her claims include that media hostility has prevented the establishment of a new human rights culture, and that coverage of the Human Rights Act of 1998 has focused on myths of overbearing government, activist judges, and unethical immigrants exploiting refugee status.