Yes, and unfortunately in the contemporary US the idea that judges should base their decisions on what the law actually says is considered an extreme right wing position.
This is interesting. From the Wiki it sounds a bit like, when judges in the US exercise judicial activism, they tend to come up with leftier decisions than those who take the laws literally. So that this activism goes left but rarely or never right. For example, more religioius or more authoritarian or more private property oriented judicial doesn't really exist, this is what these Wiki articles suggest. That the written law is always righttmost wall and they go only left from that. Is this a correct interpretation?
If yes, what could cause this?
For examp...
Over at Scott Adams' Blog you can find a very fine example of using the 'Rationality Engine' to solve the social problem of assisted dying.