Greg F, your citation of the facts of the Santa Clara Country v. So. Pacif. RR case and its judicial aftermath well illustrates what's meant by "judicial activism" and how jurists like Scalia and Roberts who claim to be "strict constructionists" or "originalists" and decry "legislating from the bench" are total hypocrites.


In today's ruling, the Roberts court went out of its way to overturn both original intent and precedent, extending their considerations in this case far beyond the questions at issue in the case (which was whether the corporation that wanted to put out a politically-inflammatory movie close to an election date should have to disclose their identity).