How can you tell if the newest Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is an “activist” judge? She admits it. Worse, she appears to think it is her job, if not her duty, to engage in (left-wing) judicial activism.

In an interview with CBS News, Jackson explained what she hopes to accomplish in her many dissents. “I just feel that I have a wonderful opportunity to tell people in my opinions how I feel about the issues,” she said, “and that’s what I try to do.” She added, “And I’m not afraid to use my voice.” This sounds like a podcaster rather than a judge.

You might be forgiven for thinking judges are supposed to interpret the law as intended by the legislature and apply the law to resolve disputes before the court.

Chief Justice John Roberts, for example, compares the role of a justice to that of an umpire whose job is to call balls and strikes. “Judges,” Roberts said, “are like umpires. They don’t make the rules, they apply them.” As to judges deciding cases based on policy or on “how (they) feel about the issues,” on their weighing in on policy, Roberts said, “I don’t think you want judges deciding cases based on what is good policy … there are legal questions here.”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, in her majority decision that reined in the power of district courts to impose nationwide injunctions,........

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