Borkian judicial restraint
defer-to-democratic-majorities, 1971–present

Borkian restraint defers to democratically-enacted statutes and resists judicial recognition of unenumerated rights — which favors enforcing whatever a legislative majority passes. Abbott's record is heavily majoritarian: SB 8, SB 10, SB 14, SB 17, HB 1927, the SB 12 pronouns ban — each was passed by the legislature, signed, and defended in court. Hinojosa's preference for judicial intervention (e.g., her amendment shifting Establishment Clause defense costs to the AG to force litigation) runs against the Borkian-restraint principle. The complication is that Abbott also asked the Texas Supreme Court to vacate Democratic House seats — an aggressive judicial-power request — which is the opposite of restraint. Abbott is the closer Borkian fit overall but the August 2025 episode shows mixed adherence; Hinojosa runs against the principle by design.