Senate Debate on Empathy
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Gloria M. Navarro
U.S. District Judge, District of Nevada
Nominated: December 24, 2009
ABA Rating: Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Not
Qualified
Committee Questionnaire
Hearing Date:
February 11, 2010
Questions For The Record
Reported By Committee:
March 4, 2010
Confirmed By Senate: May 5, 2010
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- Committee Questionnaire - Gloria Navarro
Responses of Gloria M. Navarro
Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada
to the Written Questions of Senator Jeff Sessions
5. As you may know, 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. While I understand that you cannot know what President Obama may or may not have meant by this statement, do you believe that you fit President Obama’s criteria for federal judges, as described in his quote? Why?
Response: If empathy is defined as not just the willingness but also the ability to understand and consider several points of view and keep an open mind, then I believe I do fit President Obama’s criteria.
b. During her confirmation hearing, Justice Sotomayor rejected this so-called "empathy standard" stating, "We apply the law to facts. We don’t apply feelings to facts." Do you agree with Justice Sotomayor?
Response: I agree with Justice Sotomayor’s statement.
c. What role do you believe empathy should play in a judge’s consideration of a case?
Response: A judge should be able to understand and consider the views presented, keeping an open mind before applying the law to the facts of the case.
d. Do you think that it’s ever proper for judges to indulge their own subjective sense of empathy in determining what the law means?
Response: No
i. If so, under what circumstances?
Response: See Response above.
6. Please describe with particularity the process by which these questions were answered.
Response: I received these written questions from the Department of Justice (DOJ). I reviewed my materials referenced in the questions, drafted my responses, discussed the answers with representatives of the DOJ and then finalized my responses.
7. Do these answers reflect your true and personal views?
Response: Yes.
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