Activist judges. Judicial activism. Usurping the will of the people. Legislating from the bench.

We hear elected politicians utter those phrases on an almost daily basis in response to some perceived outrage emanating from the third branch of government. But the charge is more about whether the politician in question agrees with the decision than whether the decision was based in law.

Take, for instance, Rep. Paul Broun, R-Athens. Last week Broun, who earlier condemned the California Supreme Court gay marriage decision, railed against the U.S. Supreme Court for overturning the death sentence of a Louisiana man convicted of raping a 13-year-old because it is cruel and unusual punishment.