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Judicial restraint is a theory of judicial interpretation which endorses the limited exercise of power by the judiciary. Judges and legal scholars who practice or support judicial restraint have been described as "strict constructionist," "interpretivist," and "textualist". Image File history File links Stop_hand. ... There are several theories as to how judges ought to interpret legal sources (legislation, case law and constitutional provisions). ... The judiciary, also referred to as the judicature, consists of the system of courts of law for the administration of justice and to its principals, the justices, judges and magistrates among other types of adjudicators. ... A judge or justice is an official who presides over a court. ... JURIST is an online legal news and research service hosted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, edited by Professor Bernard Hibbitts and a staff of more than 20 law students. ...

Judicial restraint is thought to bring stability and predictability to jurisprudence. Supporter often see the judiciary as the weakest branch of government, responsible only for deciding cases and controversies. Jurisprudence is the scientific study of law through a philosophical lens. ... The case or controversy clause of Article III of the United States Constitution has been deemed to impose a requirement that United States federal courts are not permitted to hear cases that do not pose an actual controversy - that is, an actual dispute between adverse parties which is capable of...

In deciding questions of constitutional law, judicially restrained jurists go to great lengths to defer to the framers and the Constitution. Judicial restraint requires the judge to look first to the Constitution. If the meaning cannot be discerned, the judge is then permitted to look to the intent of the framers. Only when neither the Constitution nor the intent clarifies an issue may a judge invoke his own understanding of the issue. Constitutional law is the study of foundational laws that govern the scope of powers and authority of various bodies in relation to the creation and execution of other laws by a government. ... Intent in law is the planning and desire to perform an act. ... The Founding Fathers of the United States, also known to some Americans as the Fathers of Our Country, the Forefathers, Framers or the Founders are the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution or otherwise participated in the American Revolution as leaders of the Patriots. ...

Moreover, judicial restraint entails adherence to stare decisis and precedent to ensure stability and predictability, under the philosophy that judges should say what the law is and not what it should be. Under this philosophy, the job of changing the law should be reserved to the legislature and not to the court. Stare decisis (Latin:, Anglicisation:, to stand by things decided) is a Latin legal term, used in common law to express the notion that prior court decisions must be recognized as precedents, according to case law. ... Precedent, sometimes authority, is the legal principle or rule created by a court which guides judges in subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. ...

See also

• Judicial activism
• Separation of powers