Law in Contemporary Society

View   r6  >  r5  ...
JessicaCohenSecondPaper 6 - 29 Apr 2010 - Main.MikeAbend
Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="SecondPaper"
Line: 22 to 22
 In light of the fact that Obama’s proclaimed penchant for judicial empathy likely led him to choose our most recently appointed Supreme Court justice and will almost certainly inform his next choice, it’s worth considering 1) what judicial empathy actually is, 2) whether it is in fact unique to liberals, and 3) if 2) is true, what that means.

Obama first made known his appreciation for judicial empathy at John Roberts’ confirmation hearing, in 2005. It was the “5 percent” of cases, the really tough ones, that he felt required empathy on behalf of the disenfranchised and immobilized. Roberts, in Obama's estimation, did not have it. After participating in the 2006 filibuster of Samuel Alito’s confirmation, Obama shared a similar gripe, saying that Alito had a Pavlovian impulse to favor employers over employees. And Obama famously lauded Sonia Sotomayor's experience as providing her with the ability to emphathize, though she rejected Obama's view at her confirmation hearings. (Sotomayor ironically referred to herself as an “umpire” in judging.) So is “empathetic” simply a code word for liberal?

Added:
>
>
      • Again, I have trouble with the applied definition of empathy. Are you referring to a more paternalistic role of the judiciary? Or is it more sympathy that you are expounding? While I understand the interest of the working man, the argument is a two way street. Employers have as much of a right as employees, so I don't know if one could favor either side. Sotomayor's experience may lead her to see both sides in a clearer light, but I don't think a judge can "favor" one side or the other
 

What Is Judicial Empathy?


Revision 6r6 - 29 Apr 2010 - 16:19:35 - MikeAbend
Revision 5r5 - 29 Apr 2010 - 02:45:08 - MikeAbend
This site is powered by the TWiki collaboration platform.
All material on this collaboration platform is the property of the contributing authors.
All material marked as authored by Eben Moglen is available under the license terms CC-BY-SA version 4.
Syndicate this site RSSATOM