Senate Debate on Empathy
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Rosanna M. Peterson
U.S. District Judge, District of Washington
Nominated: October 13, 2009
ABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified
Committee Questionnaire
Hearing Date:
November 18, 2009
Questions For The Record
Reported By Committee:
Dec. 10, 2009
Confirmed By Senate: January 25, 2010
20xx-xx-xx
- Committee Questionnaire - Rosanna Peterson
Responses of Rosanna Malouf Peterson
Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
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. Without commenting on what President Obama may or may not have meant by this statement, what is your opinion with respect to President Obama’s criteria for federal judges, as described in his quote?
Response: I think that President Obama is correct in selecting judges who have a broad range of life experiences and a breadth of understanding of the human experience.
b. In your opinion, do you fit President Obama’s criteria for federal judges, as described in the quote?
Response: Yes. I have a wide range of life experiences that would allow me to comprehend all types of arguments and communicate with all types of parties who may appear before me, if I am confirmed.
c. During her confirmation hearings, Justice Sotomayor rejected President Obama’s 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, I agree with Justice Sotomayor’s statement.
d. What role do you believe that empathy should play in a judge’s consideration of a case?
Response: I believe that a judge’s breadth of understanding of the human experience would allow the judge to comprehend and communicate with diverse parties who appear before the judge, which could assist a judge in determining credibility of witnesses.
e. Do you think that it’s ever proper for judges to indulge their own subjective sense of empathy in determining what the law means? If so, under what circumstances?
Response: No.
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