Like segregation?

The fact is, judges don't make law. They interpret law that has been made by the legislature and mostly signed by the executive. Sometimes the law is so bad, it conflicts with the Constitution, and so is thrown out.

Sometimes the law is reinterpreted based on new views of what the world is like. The "separate but equal" doctrine would be a prime example of that. The NAACP labored long to show that separate was not equal, in spite of many protestations to the contrary, thus forcing integration through the courts. This, in turn, put steam into the civil rights movement, which inspired legislative action.

Conservatives now have an active judiciary which has supported many of the activities they want to push in this way.

A couple of decisions have gone in ways you don't want. Too bad.

You think that executing a 14-year-old is a good thing? We already execute the mentally infirm, which does nothing to teach other mentally infirm people "a lesson". It doesn't make us more humane as a society either.