Senate Debate on Empathy
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Charlene Edwards Honeywell
U.S. District Judge, Mid. Dist. of Florida
Nominated: June 25, 2009
ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Committee Questionnaire
Hearing Date:
September 9, 2009
Questions For The Record
Reported By Committee:
Oct. 1, 2009
Confirmed By Senate: Nov. 9, 2009
20xx-xx-xx - Committee Questionnaire - Charlene Honeywell
Responses of Charlene Edwards Honeywell
Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
to the Written Questions of Senator Jeff Sessions
Empathy
1. President Obama has described the types of judges that he will nominate to the federal bench as follows: "We need somebody who’s got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it’s like to be a young teenage mom. The empathy to understand what it’s like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old. And that’s the criteria by which I’m going to be selecting my judges."
a. Do you believe that you fit the President’s criteria for federal judges, as described in his quote?
2
Response: To the extent that I am an African American woman, I fit one of President Obama’s criteria for federal judges.
b. What role do you believe that empathy should play in a judge’s consideration of a case?
Response: Empathy does not play a role in my consideration of cases. Presently, I decide cases by applying the law to the facts of the cases pending before me. If confirmed by the Senate to serve as a District Court Judge, I will decide cases in the same manner.