Judicial restraint is a legal philosophy or approach that advocates for judges to limit the exercise of their own power and defer to the decisions of elected officials whenever possible. In other words, judges who adhere to judicial restraint believe that they should only strike down laws or government actions if they are blatantly unconstitutional, and should otherwise defer to the other branches of government to make policy decisions. This approach contrasts with judicial activism, which holds that judges should actively intervene to protect individual rights and ensure that government actions are consistent with constitutional principles.
