Out of Control: How Conservative Activist Judges Are Destroying Faith in America’s Courts

                                                    Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Every democracy relies on trust in the courts. Without it, laws mean little more than the whims of whoever happens to be in power. But in America today, that trust is being shredded by conservative activist judges who have decided that restraint is optional, precedent is disposable, and conservative ideology is the law of the land.

Politico recently reported that a powerful immigration appeals court just declared anyone in deportation proceedings who entered the U.S. without authorization is automatically barred from even asking for bond. Translation: immigrants can now be locked up indefinitely with no chance to argue for release, even if they have jobs, families, or strong legal claims to stay.

This is judicial activism of the most dangerous kind. 

Courts are supposed to act as a check on government power. Instead, conservative judges are handing that power over on a silver platter, rubber-stamping the harshest possible interpretations of the law.

 The Supreme Court’s conservative majority already gutted abortion rights. It has made it harder for workers to organize, easier for corporations to dodge accountability, and more difficult for voters to challenge gerrymandering. Now, the Court even cut back on the ability of noncitizens in prolonged detention to get bond hearings. 

Over and over, the message is the same: rights for the powerful, punishment for the vulnerable.

Is it any wonder that trust in the judiciary has cratered? Only about one-third of Americans now trust the courts a record low. That collapse isn’t because people suddenly hate the idea of courts; it’s because people can see what’s happening. Judges are acting like partisan politicians in robes.

The conservative legal movement loves to talk about “originalism” and “judicial modesty,” but those phrases are PR covers. In practice, conservative judges are more than happy to toss aside precedent, bend statutory text, and unleash executive power, as long as it aligns with their politics. That isn’t modesty. It’s raw power.

Once people lose faith in the courts, it’s almost impossible to get it back. And if conservatives keep treating the judiciary as just another weapon in their political arsenal they’ll burn down the very institution that makes democracy possible.