Judicial Activism

If the Heller case -- the one about the DC gun ban -- goes as expected tomorrow, we will hear cries from the left about "judicial activism."

You may not know what that phrase means, especially in that context, so I'll try to help out.

To a liberal who uses the phrase, a decision they dislike is "judicial activism." To a conservative, any decision which is not justified by the law is "judicial activism."

That means that a conservative can call something judicial activism even if he thinks it is the right thing, but that it was done in the wrong way (e.g., upholding a ban on medical marijuana via "interstate commerce"), while a liberal can call something judicial activism even if it follows the law completely, but they simply believe the law should be something else (e.g., the likely outcome of tomorrow's gun case).

I hope this helps you wade through the discussions tomorrow.