Senate Debate on Empathy
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John A. Gibney, Jr.

U.S. District Judge, East. Dist. of Virginia
Nominated: April 14, 2010
ABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified
Committee Questionnaire
Hearing Date: April 28, 2010
Questions For The Record
Reported By Committee:
Confirmed By Senate:
 20xx-xx-xx - Committee Questionnaire - John Gibney

http://judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/111thCongressJudicialNominations/upload/JohnGibney-QFRs.pdf

 

4. During the 2008 presidential campaign, President Obama 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. Without commenting on 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?

 

Response: Given that President Obama has nominated me, I conclude that I fit

his criteria for federal judges.

 

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: Yes.

 

c. What role do you believe empathy should play in a judge’s consideration of a

case?

 

Response: None.

 

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. If so, under what circumstances?

 

Response: None.

 

4

 

 

e. As you know, Justice Stevens recently announced his retirement. The

President said that he will select a Supreme Court nominee with “a keen

understanding of how the law affects the daily lives of the American people.”

Do you believe judges should base their decisions on a desired outcome, or

solely on the law and facts presented?

 

Response: Judicial decisions should be based solely on the law and the facts in

evidence.

 

 

5. Please describe with particularity the process by which these questions were

answered.

 

Response: On May 5, 2010, a copy of the questions was sent to me by email. I drafted

answers and discussed my answers with attorneys at the Department of Justice. I made

revisions I deemed appropriate and asked the Department to submit them to the

Committee on my behalf.

 

 

6. Do these answers reflect your true and personal views?

 

Response: Yes