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61 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1 (1992-1993)
Two Faces of Judicial Activism

handle is hein.journals/gwlr61 and id is 9 raw text is: The Two Faces of Judicial Activism William Wayne Justice* On March 10, 1992, the Honorable William Wayne Justice delivered a speech on judicial activism at The George Washington University National Law Center. The George Washington Law Review is pleased to reprint the text ofJudge Justice's remarks. For the past twenty years, every United States Supreme Court nominee has come with a presidential warranty that he or she will be a jurist who interprets the law rather than makes it. It has become commonplace for political officeseekers and officeholders of all ide- ological stripes to make judicial activism the target of much dema- gogic bluster. Several of my own decisions have been made into campaign issues in Texas gubernatorial races and numerous local political contests. Indeed, at this very moment, East Texans are casting their ballots in a primary election in which one of the candi- dates for State Representative has expended considerable rhetoric condemning the consent decrees and orders I approved and issued in the prison reform case of Ruiz v. Estelle. 1 What has been missing from much of this verbal attack is the clear identification of its subject. Judicial activism is, more often than not, a code word used to induce public disapproval of a court action that a politician opposes, but is powerless to overturn. In most cases, the mindless incantation of this phrase amounts to a political ritual, which touches the congregation of voters on an emotional * Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. 1. 503 F. Supp. 1265 (S.D. Tex. 1980), aff'd in part, vacated in part, and modified in part, 679 F.2d 1115 (5th Cir.), amended in part and vacated in part, 688 F.2d 266 (5th Cir. 1982), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1042 (1983). November 1992 Vol. 61 No. 1

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