Paul Watford

The Court has long held that the Constitution protects certain fundamental rights that are not explicitly enumerated in the Constitution's text, while at the same time emphasizing that courts must proceed with great caution in recognizing such rights.

As a general rule, I do not think judges should consider current societal preferences when ruling on constitutional challenges.

A judge's role is to ensure that the legislature remains within the limits of its assigned authority under the Constitution. Judges have no authority to second-guess the wisdom of the value judgments and policy choices the legislature has made.

I do not believe there are any circumstances in which a judge should consider his or her own values or policy preferences in determining what the law means.