University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Reynolds (of Instapundit fame) has written an excellent new book, The Judiciary’s Class War, which is inexpensive, accessible to the lay reader, and highly informative. In essence, he argues that the federal judiciary, and especially the U.S. Sup…
Judicial Activism
The Absurdity of Lopez v. Abbott: The Left’s Frivolous Voting Rights Act Challenge to Statewide Judicial Elections
Texas is somewhat unusual in that, pursuant to the Texas Constitution, all state court judges are elected. I have written about this here and here. Logically, the elections take place within the jurisdictional area of each court. State district judges have county-wide jurisdiction, so the electo…
Tucker Carlson’s Segment on Rogue Judges
I am a fan of Tucker Carlson Tonight, and usually enjoy his monologues, but his February 21, 2018 segment entitled “Rogue Judges: Federal Courts the Most Decayed Institution of All” was one of the best treatments of the subject I have ever seen. If you haven’t seen it, I highly…
Is Impeachment the Answer to Judicial Overreach?
Critics of judicial activism yearn for quick solutions and easy answers, but there aren’t any. Impeachment of activist judges is not going to happen. In this article in American Greatness, I explain why not.
The Demise of Democracy: Part 2
In the second (and concluding) installment of my look at “institutional reform litigation” in Law and Liberty, I review the lawsuit against Texas’ foster care system, before federal court Judge Janis Graham Jack in Corpus Christi. Her egregious ruling is currently on appeal to t…
Manhattan Institute Program on “Judicial Engagement v. Judicial Restraint”
About this time last year, the Manhattan Institute hosted a program featuring Clark Neily and me to discuss our respective views of the Constitution and the appropriate role of judges. You can watch a video of the program here.
My Critique of “Judicial Engagement”
I have objected to the libertarian theory of “judicial engagement” since I first heard it advanced by Clark Neily at a Federalist Society event where he was promoting his book, Terms of Engagement. I have debated Clark and written about his book in National Review, Law and Liberty, C…
The Demise of Democracy: Part 1
In a two-part post for Law and Liberty, I discuss the long-running litigation against Texas’ foster care system, beginning with an overview of “institutional reform litigation.” Read the first part here.
Symposium on Justice Scalia
Shortly after Justice Scalia’s untimely demise, Law and Liberty put together a symposium in which I was honored to appear. Some of the other contributors were Ralph Rossum, Hadley Arkes, Mike Ramsey, and Gerald Russello. My contribution focused on Justice Scalia’s cultural conservati…
Deferring Democracy: The DACA Decision
An unelected federal judge in San Francisco enjoined the Trump administration’s rescission of DACA? How does that work? The answer is judicial activism in the name of anti-Trump Resistance. Read more.