We all favor “judicial restraint” and oppose “judicial activism”—except, naturally, when we don’t, in which case we just call them by the opposite label. “Judicial restraint”—and its cousin, “strict construction” of the Constitution—are the chameleons of American law, instantly able to change philosophical color when expediency requires. “Judicial activism” is what the other guy does. But in truth, everybody’s an activist now.
