Senate Debate on Empathy
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Leonard P. Stark
U.S. District Judge, District of Delaware
Nominated: March 17, 2010
ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Committee Questionnaire
Hearing Date:
April 22, 2010
Questions For The Record
Reported By Committee:
May 13, 2010
Confirmed By Senate:
20xx-xx-xx
- Committee Questionnaire -
Leonard Stark
Responses of Leonard P. Stark
Nominee to be United States District Judge for the District of Delaware
to the Written Questions of Senator Jeff Sessions.
3. 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: To the extent the President’s concept of empathy requires that
federal judges be committed to treating all individuals who appear before
them with fairness, putting aside any personal bias or prejudice, and to do
the work necessary to understand and critically evaluate the positions of
all who come before the
judge, I believe I satisfy his criteria.
b. During her confirmation hearing, Justice Sotomayor rejected this socalled
“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: When making decisions, a judge must put aside whatever
emotions or feelings the judge may feel for or against a litigant. The
judge’s decision should be based solely on a careful, impartial application
of the law to the facts.
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.
4
i. If so, under what
circumstances?
Response: Not
applicable.
ii. Please identify any
cases in which you have done so.
Response: I do not
recall any such case.
iii. If not, please discuss an example of a case where you have had
to set aside your own subjective sense of empathy and rule
based solely on the law.
Response: I do not recall any such case. My rulings are based
solely on the law and the facts.
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: I believe judges should base their decisions solely on the law
and facts presented.