Judicial activism
From RationalWiki
Judicial "activism" is when a judge disagrees with you.
In theory, judicial activism is when the judicial branch of the United States government makes laws rather than merely explicating and interpreting them. Conservatives like to believe that only liberals engage in activism. However, many studies have shown that conservative judges are far more likely to be "activist" in the sense of overriding elected legislatures. The most "activist" judge on the US Supreme Court has been shown to be Clarence Thomas.
Perhaps the most extreme example of recent "judicial activism" was when, in early 2001, the Supreme Court overrode Florida's right to decide how to assign their electoral votes, in Bush v. Gore.
[edit] Interpretation of the law
The judicial branch's function in government is interpretation of the laws passed by the legislative branch. When a judge's interpretation is seen as liberal, they are labeled an "activist judge". When the interpretation is viewed as conservative, the judge is an originalist or strict-constructionist.
