Michael Steele Echos Conservatives' Double Standard On Empathy

Michael Steele Believes: 'Empathy' Has No Place In A Court Room

Michael Steele: "President Obama has also stated that judicial 'empathy' is an important standard for Supreme Court nominees - the ability for a nominee to see beyond the facts of the case and personally indentify with people the ruling will affect. 'Empathy' has no place in a court room, especially the Supreme Court. While every human being has the capacity for empathy, we trust the judicial system to base rulings on the law." [Steele Politico op-ed, 6/2/09] 

Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas Touted His Ability To Bring Empathy Into The Courtroom

George H. W. Bush Praised Judge Clarence Thomas For His "Great Empathy." During a news conference in which he nominated Judge Clarence Thomas for the U.S. Supreme Court, President George H. W. Bush said, "I am very pleased to announce that I will nominate Judge Clarence Thomas to serve as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court... I have followed this man's career for some time, and he has excelled in everything that he has attempted. He is a delightful and warm, intelligent person who has great empathy and a wonderful sense of humor." [Bush News Conference via Public Papers of the President, 7/1/91]

Justice Clarence Thomas Touted His Ability To "Walk In The Shoes" Of The People Affected By His Decisions.  During his confirmation hearing in 1991, Justice Thomas said: "I believe, Senator, that I can make a contribution, that I can bring something different to the Court, that I can walk in the shoes of the people who are affected by what the Court does. You know, on my current court I have occasion to look out the window that faces C Street, and there are converted buses that bring in the criminal defendants to our criminal justice system, bus load after bus load. And you look out and you say to yourself, and I say to myself almost every day, 'But for the grace of God there go I.'" [Thomas Confirmation Hearing via Washington Monthly, accessed 5/29/09; emphasis added]

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito Touted His Ability To Bring Empathy Into The Courtroom

Excerpt from Justice Alito's remarks during his 2006 confirmation hearing:

"When a case comes before me involving, let's say, someone who is an immigrant -- and we get an awful lot of immigration cases and naturalization cases -- I can't help but think of my own ancestors, because it wasn't that long ago when they were in that position.

"And so it's my job to apply the law. It's not my job to change the law or to bend the law to achieve any result.

"But when I look at those cases, I have to say to myself, and I do say to myself, 'You know, this could be your grandfather, this could be your grandmother. They were not citizens at one time, and they were people who came to this country.'

"When I have cases involving children, I can't help but think of my own children and think about my children being treated in the way that children may be treated in the case that's before me.

"And that goes down the line. When I get a case about discrimination, I have to think about people in my own family who suffered discrimination because of their ethnic background or because of religion or because of gender. And I do take that into account. When I have a case involving someone who's been subjected to discrimination because of disability, I have to think of people who I've known and admire very greatly who've had disabilities, and I've watched them struggle to overcome the barriers that society puts up often just because it doesn't think of what it's doing -- the barriers that it puts up to them.

"So those are some of the experiences that have shaped me as a person." [Alito Confirmation Hearing via Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com, 5/27/09; emphasis original]