The Activist Conservative Judiciary

People who make a pastime out of hurling "activist judge" epithets at liberal leaning judges when it comes to Constitutional decisions are only fooling themselves. There isn't a single judge on the federal bench who isn't an "activist judge". The only difference between camps is what part of the Constitution a judge will choose to give preeminence.

"Conservative" federal judges are all too eager to ignore the privacy rights of ordinary citizens that form the linchpin of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution in the name of national security. While it is certainly understandable why a judge would instinctively want to do so - survival is the most basic instinct - the fact is, by ignoring the intent of our Constitutional Framers, they too become activist judges.

On other questions, like the Bush Administration's attempt to recreate an "imperial presidency" with virtually unchecked power therein, the conservative bench has time and time again jettisoned the wisdom of the Founding Fathers that Congress, the repository of the collective will of the people, should hold the ultimate power of government. In taking said approach, the conservative judiciary exhibits the very kind of activist behavior that critics of the liberal judiciary are quick to condemn.

The point is not that one side is right and the other is wrong. The point is, all judges are activists...the real question is what are they advocating?