Empathy Has No Place In The Courts
As President Obama searched for a nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter, one thing became abundantly clear: Obama clearly feels the blindfold on the lady holding the scales of justice should stay off.
He said he looked for someone with "empathy" to understand the struggles of common people. How can you have empathy if you see nothing and hear only facts? That is the very definition of the American tradition of blind justice. It is a tradition we have struggled with since the nation's founding. For too long, rather than being blind, lady justice saw race or sex when deciding cases. Now, according to the president's vision, she is to see socio-economic status when deciding cases. She is to see struggles.
In the lone dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson , Justice Harlan eloquently wrote words ahead of his time in 1896: "Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens." < Read More >
He said he looked for someone with "empathy" to understand the struggles of common people. How can you have empathy if you see nothing and hear only facts? That is the very definition of the American tradition of blind justice. It is a tradition we have struggled with since the nation's founding. For too long, rather than being blind, lady justice saw race or sex when deciding cases. Now, according to the president's vision, she is to see socio-economic status when deciding cases. She is to see struggles.
In the lone dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson , Justice Harlan eloquently wrote words ahead of his time in 1896: "Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens." < Read More >
2 comments
HEY, Hey...No peeking!
That was great. A bit different from what I'm used to finding, but great none the less.
Post a Comment