Strict and loose constructionalism

Judicial Activism 

Judicial Restraint 

How powerful is the Supreme Court?

Strict constructionists tend to mean -A justice of the Supreme Court who interprets the Constitution in a strict, literal or conservative fashion- they look at the original intent of the Founding Fathers and are hence referred to as ‘originalists.’ They tend to stress the retention of as much power as possible by the governments of the individual states. They are usually conservative in their outlook. They focus on the text of the Constitution. For them, the language is supreme, and the Supreme Court's job is to derive and apply rules from the words chosen by those who framed their constitution. In their view, constitutional principles are fixed, not evolving. Examples- Roberts, Scalia, Thomas and Alito- Scalia stated his view

 ‘The Constitution I interpret and apply is not living but dead. Our first responsibility is to follow the text of the law 

- Loose Constructionist Ideology- Tends to be associated with liberal ideology. A justice of the Supreme Court who interprets the Constitution in a loose or liberal fashion- reading elements into the document that they think the framers would approve. Tends to stress the broad grants of power to the federal government. Examples- Ginsberg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan