# The Problem of Judicial Abdication **URL:** **By** Clark Neily, Aaron Ross Powell, Trevor Burrus **Published:** August 4, 2014 --- Clark Neily joins us for a discussion on judicial engagement and judicial abdication. Clark Neily joins us this week for a discussion on judicial engagement. Neily contrasts judges' findings in cases with stringent standards of review—which he characterizes as a genuine quest for the truth from a truly neutral adjudicator, decided on the basis of evidence—with what he calls judicial abdication: the tendency of judges to default to a rational basis review of speculative justification by the government. They also discuss the right to earn a living, judicial activism, and the defining essence of the Constitution. **Show Notes and Further Reading** Clark Neily, [_Terms of Engagement: How Our Courts Should Enforce the Constitution's Promise of Limited Government_](http://www.amazon.com/Terms-Engagement-Enforce-Constitutions-Government/dp/1594036969/) (book) Timothy Sandefur, [_The Right to Earn a Living: Economic Freedom and the Law_](http://www.amazon.com/Right-Earn-Living-Economic-Freedom/dp/1935308335/) (book) Clark Neily is on Twitter at [@ConLawWarrior](https://twitter.com/ConLawWarrior).