Senate Debate on Empathy
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Marc Thomas Treadwell
U.S. District Judge, Mid. Dist. of Georgia
Nominated: February 4, 2010
ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Committee Questionnaire
Hearing Date:
February 24, 2010
Questions For The Record
Reported By Committee:
March 18, 2010
Confirmed By Senate:
20xx-xx-xx
- Committee Questionnaire -
Marc Treadwell
Responses of Marc T. Treadwell
Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
to the Written Questions of Senator Jeff Sessions
2. 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. I recognize that you do not 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?
Response: I do not know if I fit the criteria quoted above, although I assume
that I met the criteria used by the President in the selection of district court
nominees. If confirmed, I commit to basing my decisions and rulings on the
relevant facts and applicable precedent binding on district court judges.
b. What role do you believe that empathy should play in a judge’s consideration
of a case?
Response: To the extent that empathy on the part of a judge would lead to the
consideration of non-relevant factors, empathy should not play a role in a judge’s
consideration of a case.
a. 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.
2
i. If so, under what circumstances?
Response: See above.
3. 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.
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 to the facts presented before you?
Response: If confirmed, I would rule in accordance with Supreme Court and
Court of Appeals precedent, regardless of my personal feelings.
4. Do you think it is ever proper for judges to indulge their own values in determining
what the law means? If so, under what circumstances?
Response: I do not think it proper for judges to indulge their own values in determining
what the law means.
5. Do you think it is ever proper for judges to indulge their own policy preferences in
determining what the law means? If so, under what circumstances?
Response: I do not think it is proper for judges to indulge their own policy preferences in
determining what the law means.