judicial restraint
Cautious court philosophy
Judicial restraint is a philosophy holding that courts should defer to the legislative and executive branches, interpreting laws narrowly and avoiding broad rulings that make new policy.
Judges practicing restraint hesitate to overturn precedent or strike down laws, intervening only when constitutional violations are clear.
The opposite approach is judicial activism.
The conservative justice was known for judicial restraint.
Prior authoritative example
- originalismInterpreting by founding-era meaning
- textualismInterpreting law literally
- minimalismAesthetic of reduction
- deferenceYielding to another's judgment
- RobertsWidespread English surname
- ThomasMasculine name meaning twin
- originalismInterpreting by founding-era meaning
- textualismInterpreting law literally
Constitutional distribution of authority
- checks and balancesConstitutional power-limiting framework
- framersThose who construct frames
- federalistAdvocate for distributed governance
- enumerated powersAuthorities explicitly granted by constitution
departmentalism · ratification · bill of rights · due process · equal protection · supremacy clause · amendment
Careful, wise judgment
- cautionCareful attention to risk
- circumspectionCareful consideration of consequences
- deliberationCareful weighing of choices
- judiciousnessCareful, wise reasoning
moderation · temperance · humility · measured · incremental · narrow · cautious · deferential
Evaluated separately, not uniformly
- ripenessReady to eat state
- standingPosition, physical or social
- mootnessState of being pointless
- justiciabilitySuitability for court decision
precedent
Prior authoritative example
- originalismInterpreting by founding-era meaning
- textualismInterpreting law literally
- minimalismAesthetic of reduction
Scalia
- RobertsWidespread English surname
- ThomasMasculine name meaning twin
- originalismInterpreting by founding-era meaning
Alito · textualism · limited government · states' rights · federalism
separation of powers
Constitutional distribution of authority
- checks and balancesConstitutional power-limiting framework
- framersThose who construct frames
- federalistAdvocate for distributed governance
enumerated powers · departmentalism · ratification · bill of rights · due process · equal protection · supremacy clause · amendment
prudence
Careful, wise judgment
- cautionCareful attention to risk
- circumspectionCareful consideration of consequences
- deliberationCareful weighing of choices
judiciousness · moderation · temperance · humility · measured · incremental · narrow · cautious · deferential · reserved
case-by-case
Evaluated separately, not uniformly
- lawlaw, lawyer, lawyers, attorney, attorneys
- constitutional lawConstitution, Bill of Rights, First Amendment, Second Amendment, Fourth Amendment
- conservatismconservative, traditionalism, fiscal conservative, small government, free enterprise
- judiciaryfederal judge, justices, district judge, magistrates, chief justice
- judicial ethicsimpartiality, recusal, disqualification, conflict of interest, misconduct
- judicial reviewconstitutional review, mandamus, prohibition, correctness, constitutionality
judicial, restraint, judging, judged, judges, judgement, judgment, judicially, judiciary