Andrew Napolitano: "There is no such thing as an activist judge"

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,157313,00.html

NEW YORK — Recent events have brought the term "activist judge" (search) to the forefront of American politics, but some judicial experts say they believe the label may be nothing more than a smokescreen to taint members of the court.

"There is no such thing as an activist judge," said FOX News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano, who served as a New Jersey superior court judge from 1987 to 1995.

"An activist judge is one whose ruling you disagree with. And if you agree with what the judge has done, you call them heroic and intelligent and honest. If you disagree with them, you call them activists."

Napolitano said the definition of "activist judge" differs from the right to the left side of the political spectrum. "To conservatives, activist judges are those who permit or compel activity in which the opinion of the conservatives can only be done in the legislative branch," he said. "To liberals, activist judges are judges who prevent the government from doing things that the Legislature wants to do."

Clear-headedness from Fox News? I think I just saw a pig fly by outside my window!