Judicial restraint and judicial activism are two contrasting concepts that judges face in court rooms today. Judicial restraint is defined as the call on the judges not to rush into making rulings that change the law as set by Congress and instead follow them to the letter except when the law contradicts the Constitution (Kelly, 2014). On the other hand, judicial activism is a concept proposing that rulings made by judges are based on their intellectual consideration of political and personal situations (Coutinho, La Torre, & Smith, 2015). On the issue of the right to privacy, the judicial restraint advocates argue that there is no such provision in the Constitution while the activism advocates argue that times have changed and numerous laws and rulings have been made that grant such a right to the citizens.
According to restraint advocates, citizens are not accorded the right to privacy by the Constitution (“The Right of Privacy,” n.d). It is therefore not the duty of the judges to establish such a right for the citizens. They argue that only Congress has the mandate to make a law providing for such. To them, the judges make mistakes in their rulings when they dismiss laws and regulations that limit the right to privacy. It is erroneous because a judge only interprets the law, not making it.
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There is a right to privacy for all citizens and institutions should not take it away unconstitutionally. As stated in “The Right of Privacy” (n.d), there is no provision for such a right in the Constitution but various other laws contain such aspects. For example, the fourteenth amendment to the constitution provides for individuals’ liberties, a provision that amounts to privacy. Time changes are always accompanied by changes in the needs of people. Since the first amendment onwards, the law has been enhancing the right to privacy (“The Right of Privacy,” n.d).
References
Coutinho, L. P., La Torre, M., & Smith, S. D. (Eds.). (2015). Judicial activism: an interdisciplinary approach to the American and European experiences (Vol. 44). Springer. Print
Kelly, J. B. (2014). Governing with the Charter: legislative and judicial activism and framers' intent. UBC Press. Print
The Right of Privacy. (n.d). retrieved August 1 2017 from: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/rightofprivacy.html
