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

No one is more vindicated by this unusual exercise of judicial restraint than Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

From Slate • Mar. 17, 2026

Speaking for the court, Sutton argued for judicial restraint.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2024

During the trial, Sirica, plainly dissatisfied, had discarded traditional judicial restraint by expressing his incredulity at witness testimony, questioning witnesses from the bench and pushing prosecutors to pursue the case more aggressively.

From Washington Post • Sep. 14, 2022

“We accordingly abide by what has been called a ‘cardinal principle of judicial restraint — if it is not necessary to decide more, it is necessary not to decide more,’” she wrote.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 3, 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 Vogel, Robert M.