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?

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?

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

case?

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? If so, under what

circumstances?

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?