Defining Activist Judges

I finally figured out what an activist judge is. An activist judge is one who comes to a conclusion different than yours by invoking inconvenient parts of a constitution. It happened here in Colorado: Judges prohibited a ballot measure from appearing because it contained two actions. the Colorado constitution limits ballot initiatives to two subjects. Framers of the initiative sought to (1) limit taxpayer expenditure on behalf of illegal immigrants and (2) deny them state-funded services. A stretch? Maybe but without moralizing, it's two actions, limiting expenditures and denying services.

The provision is in our Constitution to prevent exactly this from happening. We get a binary choice on ballot initiatives, yes or no. By including two subjects, the framers of the initiative are forcing us to decide on both. I may want to limit expenditures but I may not want to deny schooling to immigrant children (a side effect of the bill). I may not care how much we spend on them but may object to feeding them (food assistance). Wisely, a ballot initiative is limited. This could easily have been two initiatives but that wouldn't have flown. The framers got greedy, attempting to sell denial of non-emergency services (a terrible decision) with a reduction in expenditures.

So the judges ruled 4-2 to deny the initiative. That immediately got the "activist judge" whine going among those who didn't like the outcome. It's a tactic of the Right, attempt to impose your morality on us and whine when we don't accept it. By denying non-emergency services to illegal immigrants who are here to stay whether you Wingnuts want them or not, you are creating emergencies, uneducated children of illegal immigrants, emergency room visits, starvation cases, that will ultimately cost more than providing the services. I also want to hear your excuses the first time we find an apartment full of starving children because you've denied them aid. Right to life? What life are you wishing on people?

The judges ruled wisely and correctly. The Repugnicans are going to take another stab at it, relying on Bush-clone Gov Bill Owens (Give me a line item veto but give me the pork) to call a special session to ram the proposal through but I believe the voters in Colorado will vote morally and wisely and turn down this initiative. They did last year when they turned the Repugnican majority out of the State House. They can do it again. And if supporting the Constitution is judicial activism, I'm damned thankful for activist judges.