judicial restraint

Cultural  

1. A view, associated with Felix Frankfurter among others, that judges should be reluctant to declare legislative enactments unconstitutional unless the conflict between the enactment and the Constitution is obvious. The doctrine is akin to, but not identical with, narrow construction, and it is the opposite of judicial activism.

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Example Sentences

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judicial restraint

Other considerations separately counsel judicial restraint in this case.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

This was an incredibly unusual step: When a case can be decided on either constitutional or statutory grounds, principles of judicial restraint say that the court should decide the statutory question first.

From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026

Speaking for the court, Sutton argued for judicial restraint.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2024

“Surely we should adhere closely to principles of judicial restraint here, where the broader path the court chooses entails repudiating a constitutional right we have not only previously recognized, but also expressly reaffirmed,” Roberts wrote.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 25, 2022

The European city simply did not develop with the lack of judicial restraint which characterized metropolitan growth in the United States.

From Elevator Systems of the Eiffel Tower, 1889 by Robert M. Vogel