Democratic senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin was quoted as saying, "At this point, perhaps we should all accept that the best definition of a judicial activist is a judge who decides a case in a way you don’t like."

Feingold's remarks come in response to the wave of Republican accusations that Judge Sonya Sotomayor, who is appearing before Supreme Court Confirmation hearings as I write this, is impartial and allows subjectivity to be brought into the court room, due to her affiliations with political groups and comments she has made in the past.