Define and explain the new judicial federalism

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

An ideal response would be:
Amendments are one way to alter constitutions. But another device for constitutional change is judicial interpretation, whereby judges modify a constitutional provision by giving it a new interpretation. One reason for the growing length of some constitutions is that amendments are often required to reverse judicial interpretations. In addition, some sections of state constitutions have been invalidated by federal action, especially in the areas of civil rights and suffrage.In what is called new judicial federalism, state constitutions have taken on greater importance than in the past. For decades, state judges tended to look only to the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights and how the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted these documents. But since the 1970s, as the Supreme Court has become more conservative, some state supreme courts have been relying on their own state constitutions and state bills of rights in overruling state laws and the actions of state and local officials. Recall that although states must provide citizens the minimum protection guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, they can and sometimes do provide even more in areas such as equal protection and privacy. Based on the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed governments to adopt sobriety checkpoints for drivers, random drug testing of public employees, and restrictions on minors who seek abortions. However, these rulings do not force states to adopt such policies. In fact, several state supreme courts have ruled that such policies are unconstitutional violations of privacy provisions included in their own state's constitution.