Obama calls for judges with "empathy" - - for teenage moms, the poor, African-Americans, gays...

[jefferson_dem]

Obama on judges, Supreme Court
Posted: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 4:21 PM by Mark Murray
Categories: Democrats, 2008
From NBC's Carrie Dann

Speaking at the Planned Parenthood conference in DC this afternoon, Barack Obama leveled harsh words at conservative Supreme Court justices, and he offered his own intention to appoint justices with "empathy." Obama hinted that the court's recent decision in Gonzales v. Carhart -- which upheld a ban on partial-birth abortion -- was part of "a concerted effort to steadily roll back" access to abortions. And he ridiculed Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote that case's majority opinion. "Justice Kennedy knows many things," he declared, "but my understanding is that he does not know how to be a doctor."

Obama also won a laugh at the expense of Chief Justice John Roberts, saying that judgments of Roberts' character during his confirmation hearings were largely superficial. "He loves his wife. He's good to his dog," he joked, adding that judicial philosophy should be weighted more seriously than such evaluations. "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."

Obama's criticisms fell on eager ears at the conference, where activists assembled today to hear remarks from top Democratic presidential contenders Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Elizabeth Edwards (appearing in lieu of her husband while he continues his three-day poverty tour.) But his comments also demonstrated how social issues like abortion rights have been eclipsed in many ways by the high emotions of the Iraq war. "At a time when the real war is being fought abroad, would have us fight Culture Wars here at home." But he added smilingly, "I am absolutely convinced that culture Wars are just so '90s. Their days are growing dark."

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/07/17/274143.aspx

[democratsin08]

1. empathy?

shouldnt judges leave emotion out of the courtroom?

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. Well, then, why not just have a computer tabulate all the arguments in

binary code and come out with a perfect judgement?

That is a truly silly statement.

ON EDIT:
Though, technically, empathy is less an emotion than a state of mind. It may even be a heightened state of logic, where you not only marshall the facts before you, but factor in as well the personal conditions that lead a person to come before a court. After all, a person who bludgeons another because he wants the other's wallet is fundamentally different than the one who believes the other is a demon who is about to suck out his soul. It is our empathy and sympathy that allows that the insane are not responsible for their crimes, though there may be no doubt that they committed them. By the same token, the person who steals jewelry is different than the one who steals food to eat - though both are theft.

Empathy makes the difference between the law and justice.

BTW, welcome to DU.

[democratsin08]

4. i am glad to be here

i look at it like this. i dont want to be in court and have a judge rule against me because he "empathized" with my opponent. if the legal arguments are on my side i win. thats how it should be. i also feel the defense should be given the same amount of money the prosecutors have access to. prosecutors have the whole police force and unlimited funds to prosecute people who cant afford to defend themselves.

[maximusveritas]

3. That's what the conservatives say

They want automatons who just rule according to their pre-programmed reading of the law, putting more importance on what they think the words mean than what makes the most sense.

[Ethelk2044]

5. No