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

 

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

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.