Judicial Strictivism Vs Strict Constructionism

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The Supreme Court is made up of many justices that have beliefs in two different judicial philosophies. These two philosophies are that of judicial activism and strict constructionism. These philosophies differ quite a bit from one another, but they both work toward the same main goal. Both philosophies play a part in court cases, mainly when it comes to deciding on a final ruling or holding. Judicial activism is a judicial philosophy that states that a court has the right to, and should go beyond what is stated in the Constitution about an issue that is being brought up and look towards “broader” suggestions of the impending decision on said issue. Basically, the court “strikes down a law and then makes a statement that [may] change a law or policy in a significant fashion (Stankiewicz)”. A good example of judicial activism is the case of Roe v. Wade. In this case the Supreme Court determined that Texas law criminalizing, or essentially trying to outlaw abortion was unconstitutional. Strict Constructionism, on the other hand, is a distinct legal philosophy that limits or controls some judicial interpretation. A judge who uses strict…show more content…
Hodges is a perfect example of a case of judicial activism. It is a case of judicial activism because the decision to allow same-sex marriage nationwide had almost nothing to do with the Constitution itself. How is one supposed to directly use the Constitution, the way strict constructionism would, if the Constitution does not directly answer the question being asked - What is marriage? Because of the fact that there is no “strict” constitutional outline when it comes to a case such as Obergfell v. Hodges majority seemed to replace opinions with their own personal thoughts on the matter at hand. They were able to look beyond the words of the Constitution ( they used judicial activism) in order to be able to better consider all of the possible outcomes that may take place by ruling positively in a case such as
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