Senate Debate on Empathy
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Dolly M. Gee
U.S. District Judge, Cen. Dist. of Calif.
Nominated: August 6, 2009
ABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified
Committee Questionnaire
Hearing Date:
September 23, 2009
Questions For The Record
Reported By Committee:
Oct. 15, 2009
Confirmed By Senate: Dec. 24, 2009
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- Committee Questionnaire - Dolly Gee
http://judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/111thCongressJudicialNominations/upload/DollyGee-QFRs.pdf
Responses of Dolly M. Gee
Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
to the Written Questions of Senator Jeff Sessions
3. 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 agree with President Obama’s quote?
Response: I cannot say what President Obama intended in making that statement. I construe President Obama’s comments, however, to mean that judges should have an open mind, broad life experience, and should not pre-judge litigants or witnesses due to factors that have nothing to do with the merits of their case or testimony. If that is the import of President Obama’s comments, then I agree with the quote.
b. Do you believe that you fit President Obama’s standard as described in his quote?
Response: Based upon my understanding of his quote, I believe that I fit President Obama’s description.
c. What role do you believe that empathy should play in a judge’s consideration of a case?
Response: I do not believe that empathy should dictate the outcome of a case or that it should be a substitute for the dispassionate application of the law to the facts of a case. Empathy may come into play in how a judge treats litigants or witnesses in his or
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her courtroom—for example, with dignity and respect rather than disdain or condescension.
d. Do you think that it is ever proper for judges to indulge their own subjective sense of empathy in determining what the law means?
Response: No, I do not.
i. If so, under what circumstances?
4. Supreme Court precedents are binding on all lower federal courts and Circuit Court precedents are binding on the district courts within the particular circuit.
a. Are you committed to following the precedents of higher courts faithfully and giving them full force and effect, even if you personally disagree with such precedents?
Response: Yes, unequivocally.
b. How would you rule if you believed the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals had seriously erred in rendering a decision? Would you nevertheless apply that decision of your own best judgment of the merits?
Response: If I am confirmed to be a U.S. District Judge, I would be obligated and duty-bound to apply the decisions of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court, regardless of whether I personally agree with those decisions or not.
5. What in your view is the role of a judge?
Response: The role of a judge is to fairly and impartially apply the law to the facts of each individual case regardless of the judge’s own subjective views, and, when called upon, to serve as the neutral trier of fact.
a. Do you think it is ever proper for judges to indulge their own values in determining what the law means?
Response: No, I do not.
i. If so, under what circumstances?
b. Do you think it is ever proper for judges to indulge their own policy preferences in determining what the law means?
Response: No, I do not.
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