Judicial activism is a controversial issue because judges are often presumed to be almost robotically neutral. However, judges are human beings who are concerned about the integrity of the law as the law reflects core values and social norms. When the laws do not reflect progress in social norms, judges often take the initiative to make decisions that encourage change. Called "judicial activism," the process of using judicial power to influence the law is an inevitable part of the American justice system and an inevitable component of American political culture. Judicial activism can be loosely defined as "decisions that overturn laws and overrule precedents," (Chemerinsky, 2010). Judicial activism is contrasted with judicial restraint, which "occurs when courts defer to the other branches of government and follow precedents," (Chemerinsky, 2010). It is easy to see how when the public agrees with the policy in question, judicial activism is celebrated but not when the action in question is contrary to the prevailing trends. In the past, and especially since the Nixon presidency, judicial activism has been derided primarily by conservatives...
Judicial activism is technically a neutral activity, and can often be an essential component of the democratic process. For example, Brown v. Board of Education was considered activist in its time, as was Roe v. Wade. If the Supreme Court justices, or any other judges, never used their power to affect meaningful social change, then the nation would remain stagnant.
Kelo V. New London Judicial Activism Kelo V. City of New London and Judicial Activism Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005) analyzes the issue of eminent domain and the circumstances under which a city or government can use this to seize an individual's property. In Kelo v. City of New London (2005), Susette Kelo sued the city of New London claiming that her property, and the properties of
Supreme Court opinions and dissents are essentially reflections of judicial self-restraint or judicial activism. Generally, the Supreme Court reflects judicial self-restraint or judicial activism through the use of the doctrine of standing in majority opinions and in dissenting opinions respectively. This implies that judicial self-restraint and judicial activism are terms in current legal language that describe opposite approaches that are taken by judges to interpret various issues relating to a
Judiciary These two questions will be responded to simultaneously as the answer to one will always involve touching on issues concerning the other. When we speak of three (3) departments or branches of government then we must necessarily refer to the "presidential system" of governance. These three co-equal and co-independent departments are the Executive, the legislative and the judiciary. The executive as its name connotes, has the main duty to faithfully execute the
growth and use of the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments to the Constitution using the modern day criminal justice system. According to Webster's dictionary of Law, Judicial Activism is defined as: "The practice in the judiciary of protecting or expanding individual rights through decisions that depart from established precedent or are independent of or in opposition to supposed constitutional or legislative intent compare judicial restraint." Over the past
Criminal justice administration mainly focuses on crime prevention and punishing any illegal activities. Criminal justice administration is wide and it entails law enforcement and the judicial administration. Some of the jobs that relate to criminal justice administration include; security coordination, juvenile delinquency administration, law enforcement and being a courtroom official. Additional crime is also part of criminal justice administration. This field entails terrorism prevention, immigration policies and social policies. Other
For example, unequal protection may result from land-use decisions that determine the location of residential amenities and disamenities. Unincorporated, poor, and communities of color often suffer a "triple" vulnerability of noxious facility siting." (Bullard, 1998) Finally, 'Social Equity' is that which "assesses the role of sociological factors (race, ethnicity, class, culture, life styles, political power, etc.) on environmental decision making. Poor people and people of color often work in the
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