Conservative, Activist, Potato, Potato?

I know the title made sense to you, because you said it to yourself.  Sorry Microsoft Word, "conservative" and "activist" aren't really antonyms, at least not in the judicial context. This NYTimes editorial says "Activism is in the Eye of the Ideologist." Conservative judges have shown themselves to be activists just as much as liberal judges —just for different causes.  A new study of Supreme Court voting patterns by Kentucky LawProf Lori Ringhand (forthcoming in Constitutional Commentary) suggests that the conservative Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas are actually more activist than their liberal colleagues. Read the editorial here. [Michele Berry]