Judicial philosophy

Judicial philosophy

Judicial philosophy is the set of ideas and beliefs which dictate how Justices and judges of the United States federal courts may rule in many cases. There is a large academic debate over judicial philosophy, with some supporting the theory that justices can be categorized as judicial conservatives, moderates, or liberals, while others argue that justices cannot be evaluated using such a rigid division. Still, when nominations to important courts are made, a key issue is judicial philosophy.

Judicial Conservative

The conservative judicial philosophy is marked by the belief that the U.S. Constitution is a firmly defined document which is not open to new evaluation and modernization. Because of this, many judicial conservatives adhere to the idea of Originalism, and the concept that certain rights or restrictions are taken far beyond their initial understanding by the Founding Fathers of the United States. Many also believe that foreign law and precedent should not be a factor in U.S. legal matters. Politically, a conservative judicial philosophy can in addition be associated with Conservatism, a defense of established values. As a result, many judicial conservatives believe that traditional moral values are important in legal interpretation, and therefore tend to be pro-life and more lenient with matters concerning the separation of church and state. Judicial conservatives are almost always nominated by Republicans, and are usually attacked by Democrats, many of whom fear that judicial conservatives are opponents of civil rights.

Prominent Judicial Conservatives on the Supreme Court include:
*Chief Justice John Roberts
*Associate Justice Antonin Scalia
*Associate Justice Clarence Thomas
*Associate Justice Samuel Alito

Prominent Judicial Conservatives on the Courts of Appeals include:
*Judge Edith Jones of the Fifth Circuit
*Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit
*Judge William Pryor of the Eleventh Circuit

Judicial Liberal

The liberal judicial philosophy is marked by the belief that the U.S. Constitution is a living document which is open to new evaluation and modernization, that foreign law and precedent should be a factor in U.S. legal matters, and that certain rights or restrictions should be expanded. Politically, a liberal judicial philosophy can be associated with Progressivism, a desire for social reform. Due to their general support for strong protection of individual liberties, judicial liberals tend to be pro-choice and more restrictive in matters concerning the separation of church and state. Although certain Republican nominated justices have turned out to be judicial liberals, judicial liberals are generally nominated only by Democrats. Usually, judicial liberals are attacked by Republicans for not following the express wording of the U.S. Constitution and for undermining traditional social values. Prominent Judicial Liberals on the Supreme Court include:
*Associate Justice John Paul Stevens
*Associate Justice David Souter
*Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
*Associate Justice Stephen Breyer

Prominent Judicial Liberals on the Court of Appeals include:
*Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the Ninth Circuit
*Judge Guido Calabresi of the Second Circuit
*Judge Marsha S. Berzon of the Ninth Circuit

Judicial Moderates

The judicial moderate usually has a balance of both liberal and conservative opinions. Many just evaluate the law based on wording and past legal precedent rather than consider outside factors such as religious beliefs or public opinion. This usually makes the moderate desirable to the general public, and a swing vote. Some moderates are pegged as such because they will vote extremely liberal on some matters, but be extremely conservative with others. Other moderates are pegged as such because they will reverse their own decisions. Still others are called moderates because they lack a distinctive judicial past.

Prominent Judicial Moderates include:
*Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy
*Former Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
*Former Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers (At the time of her unsuccessful nomination, Miers was categorized as a judicial moderate because there was no documentation that her judicial philosophy was either conservative or liberal. Miers had never been a state or nationally elected official and had never been a state or federal judge.)

ee also

*Active Liberty
*Constitution in exile
*Due process
*Judicial activism
*Judicial interpretation
*Judicial minimalism
*Judicial restraint
*Legal formalism
*Legal realism
*Legislative intent
*Living Constitution
*Originalism
*Plain Meaning Rule
*Purposive theory
*Stare decisis
*Statutory interpretation
*Strict constructionism
*Textualism


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Judicial activism — is a pejorative term for the misuse of judicial power and is a neologism for the older classical term board judicial review . The most common connotation is subjective, in which the speaker condemns judicial decisions that, in the view of the… …   Wikipedia

  • judicial activism — Judicial philosophy which motivates judges to depart from strict adherence to judicial precedent in favor of progressive and new social policies which are not always consistent with the restraint expected of appellate judges. It is commonly… …   Black's law dictionary

  • judicial activism — Judicial philosophy which motivates judges to depart from strict adherence to judicial precedent in favor of progressive and new social policies which are not always consistent with the restraint expected of appellate judges. It is commonly… …   Black's law dictionary

  • Judicial minimalism — This article is about judicial philosophy. For other uses, see Minimalism (disambiguation). Judicial minimalism refers to a philosophy in United States constitutional law which promotes itself as a politically moderate viewpoint. Contents 1… …   Wikipedia

  • Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937 — The Hughes Court, 1932–1937. Front row: Justices Brandeis and Van Devanter, Chief Justice Hughes, and Justices McReynolds and Sutherland. Back row: Justices Roberts, Butler, Stone, and Cardozo …   Wikipedia

  • Judicial appointment history for United States federal courts — The appointment of federal judges has become viewed as a political process in the last several decades. This is especially true of U.S. Supreme Court and court of appeals appointments. These charts show the composition of the Supreme and circuit… …   Wikipedia

  • Judicial interpretation — Judicial Interpretation …   Wikipedia

  • Judicial review in English law — See also: Judicial review Judicial review is a procedure in English administrative law by which the courts in England and Wales supervise the exercise of public power on the application of an individual. A person who feels that an exercise of… …   Wikipedia

  • Philosophy (The) of the Italian Renaissance — The philosophy of the Italian Renaissance Jill Kraye TWO CULTURES: SCHOLASTICISM AND HUMANISM IN THE EARLY RENAISSANCE Two movements exerted a profound influence on the philosophy of the Italian Renaissance: scholasticism and humanism, both of… …   History of philosophy

  • philosophy — noun 1 study of ideas about the meaning of life ADJECTIVE ▪ ancient, classical, Enlightenment, medieval ▪ contemporary, modern ▪ Buddhist, Chinese …   Collocations dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”