EconTalk Clint Bolick Defends Judicial Activism
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Oct 31, 2006 
Clint Bolick, co-founder of the Institute for Justice and president of the Alliance for School Choice, is a legal advocate who has argued major Supreme Court cases. He defends robust judicial review, debates originalism, and recounts fights over school choice, wine shipping, Kelo eminent domain, occupational licensing, and regulatory takings. Short, sharp conversations on courts, commerce, and economic liberty.
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Court Decisions Are Small Compared With Rule Growth
- Courts strike down relatively few laws compared with the exponential growth in legislation and regulation, so judicial deference has grown rather than judicial overreach.
- Bolick argues the judiciary should be more aggressive in checking other branches to protect constitutional constraints.
How The Wine Case Broke Distributor Protectionism
- Bolick recounts the wine direct-shipping case where a distributor cartel pushed states to block out-of-state wine shipments after Prohibition.
- The Supreme Court held the 21st Amendment doesn't allow economic protectionism, restoring interstate wine sales by a 5–4 vote.
Kelo As A Cautionary Eminent Domain Story
- Bolick describes Kelo, where the Supreme Court allowed New London to seize private property for developer-driven economic redevelopment.
- He calls the decision judicial lawlessness for replacing 'public use' with a broad 'public benefit' rationale.
