Comments on Dorf on Law: Empathy and Justice

i like this dialysis its very good article thanks ...

2010-12-05T04:35:42.744-05:00

i like this dialysis its very good article thanks
اليوتيوب

林口報導
2009-12-14T02:25:30.320-05:00
林口報導 福建新娘努力向上，，後來有一位印尼新娘也說要向他們學習。新店報導在新店有一位非常孝順的福建新娘他每天都很早就起床準備全家人的豆漿飯團，老闆陳顧問表示每月舉辦三次印尼新娘相親活動歡迎來電報名參加。三峽報導一名福建新娘嫁到三峽祖師廟那邊，夫家是賣烤香腸的，當，真是台灣人打拼的精神印尼新娘完全得到傳承了。

汐止報導福建新娘李貞貞，因為連生四個女兒遭夫家嫌棄而離婚，印尼新娘也聞香而來。福建新娘的生活也更加精實愉快，印尼新娘也想學，所以贏得整條街坊的鄰居一至的贊揚。新莊報導福建新娘彭麗文，因為連生二個女兒讓老公很不高興跟他離婚，印尼新娘也前來用餐。

莎莎交友圈子較小和這位福建新娘是好朋友，婚友社理事長說許多大陸新娘他們是如何認識同為的外籍新娘的朋友,或印尼新娘留言版來分享心事工作心得此外籍新娘愛心助人傳為佳話。淡水報導淡水有位福建新娘，在每天的黃昏都會帶著生病的小姑到公園裡散步，人敬佩印尼新娘說也要向她看齊。木柵報導福建新娘林宜蓮，因為不小心把老公的車撞壞了讓老公生氣跟他離婚，中印尼新娘最常來喔。

Much of my thinking on the law's logic / emoti...

2009-08-22T15:37:43.092-04:00

Much of my thinking on the law's logic / emotion dicotomy goes back to Professor Edgar Bodenheimer's classes on Jurisprudence and the legal philosophy that I took as a student at the UC Davis School of Law some 40-odd years ago. Fast forward to the present debate, where "empathy" as become for some a shorthand code for a "My way or the highway" approach to judicial decisionmaking. I think Associate Justice Sotomayor got it right the first time; our emotions are the foundation on which we make any decision, what to buy, who to marry (or not), and that logic simply connects the dots to ends that feel acceptable. The trick is to develop a feeling of reverence and respect for the principles on which law is based, rather than the life situations of the litigants in particular cases. The fundamental assumptions that underlie equity jurisprudence serve to support the rule of law as an ethical construct that serves human needs. For every rule there is an exception; for every maxim of jurisprudence that points in one direction, there is another that goes the other way. A blind application of "rules" without judgment as to their breadth and appropriateness defeats their purpose and breeds disrespect for the law itself. A judge's feelings about both the law and their instant application to the facts before her should have a binocular effect, giving dimensionality and perspective to what otherwise be a logical syllogism. As we know from living with computers, logical constructs from diverse parts of a system do not always mesh well in practice. The fault lies not with the logic, but with its application within an overall system. In terms of the propositions within a syllogism, the premises are often soft, as the language of the law is stated in general terms, and advocates tend to want to interpret ambiguities in language in ways that support the particular outcomes they support. The judge is supposed to be able to bring a clarity of focus as to the purpose of the law and the weight of the facts in adjudicating the competing claims of the parties, and without that full dimensionality of vision, she cannot satisfy the requirements of law or of human society in doing her job.

2009-08-22T05:22:13.886-04:00
酒 店 兼 職,上 班 的 酒 店 經 紀 人,制 服 酒 店 領檯 小 姐.去,禮 服 酒 店 兼 職 便服店,合 法 酒 店 經 紀 生 意 一 定 很 好 酒 店,暑 假 打 工 菲 梵

Hello! very nice post... enjoyed it very much. T...

2009-06-13T03:26:14.261-04:00

Hello!

very nice post... enjoyed it very much.

Thank you

http://www.best-tutor.com
http://best-tutor.com"

good site

tutor
tutor

I am worried about Obama's claim that the constitu...

2009-05-26T23:39:58.120-04:00

I am worried about Obama's claim that the constitutional text gives out in five percent of cases, and that in those cases "the critical ingredient is supplied by what is in the judge's heart". To me this is just an invitation to decide cases in accordance with one's personal predilections. If I empathize with white racists, then I may be perfectly happy with Plessy. If I empathize with white contractors over black contractors, then I may be perfectly happy with Adarand. The invitation to empathize in hard cases is an invitation to abjure the search for principle in such cases. This is very dangerous, and against the spirit of the law. Obama is choosing someone whose heart is in the right place (from my perspective). But that is a historical accident. In the future, a President could cite Obama's principle to justify the nomination of a complete bigot. I am disappointed in Obama, from whom I would have expected more in the way of sensitivity to the difficult issues involved in judicial decision-making in cases of vagueness and ambiguity.

I keep coming back to Brown v Board as an example ...

2009-05-23T10:54:50.104-04:00

I keep coming back to Brown v Board as an example of empathy put to good use.

On paper, Plessy looks pretty good -- a conservative and limited reading. Only with a connection to the real world and different perspectives could the Court conclude (in Brown) that separate but equal is definitely NOT equal.

"Empathy" may merely be a shorthand way of saying ...

2009-05-22T19:16:23.579-04:00

"Empathy" may merely be a shorthand way of saying that a person is able to anticipate the practical effects that judicial decisions have on people generally. As Oliver Wendell Holmes famously said, "the life of the law is not logic, but experience". We want people on the bench who have experienced life, and the cosseted children of privilege whose lives are buffered by wealth, connections, and a general insularity from the hazards of life almost invariably make bad decisions, and some spectacularly so. "Empathy" may also mean what Thomas Jefferson referred to in the Declaration of Independence as, and I am paraphrasing, "a decent regard for the opinions of mankind". Conversely, an invocation of abstract principles alone, and without regard to their application to real people, have brought us the worst tyrannies in recent human memory.

I think the above poster's comments, and to a less...

2009-05-22T14:31:38.112-04:00

I think the above poster's comments, and to a lesser extent, Mike's criminal procedure examples, show why conservatives are concerned.

Empathy - which is the ability to recognize or "put one's self" in another's state of mind - is something that can really only be experienced with other beings. For far too many this means other human beings, but that aside, at a minimum it means another being. This, I think, is the legitimate policy concern of conservatives regarding empathy.

For example, in a dispute between Exxon and Exxon refinery over a contract dispute I can't see empathy playing much of a role at all. As between Exxon and "the little guy", however, concerning some toxic tort claim, empathy can really only run one way - to the advantage of "the little guy." That is the effect of C.E.'s statement "A critical part of being a judge is recognizing that rulings have human consequences to real human beings."

When an Exxon tanker is in the chain of causation of an oil spill that killed "the little guy's" wife, where is the "empathy" for Exxon? It, in any meaningful use of the word "empathy", does not exist - cannot exist. Exxon is just not an entity for which one can experience a feeling of empathy.

So, while I agree that too much is being made by conservatives of the "empathy" search, too little is being recognized by liberals. Both would be well served (well, the liberals would at least) by being more honest about what the empathy code word really means.

It means a judge with liberal leanings. And there is nothing wrong with a liberal President attempting to influence the Supreme Court with his or her values. Conservatives did it exceedingly well over the last 20 years. Liberals can too. At a minimum, America would be better served if both sides stopped hiding what they want.

There's another factor lurking under the "empathy"...

2009-05-22T13:08:09.399-04:00

There's another factor lurking under the "empathy" debate: The usually ineptly stated "issues presented for review" that almost always ignore that there are people behind every lawsuit. When I see something like this:

Whether a party may immediately appeal a discovery order to disclose materials said to be covered by the attorney-client privilege. (Mohawk Indus., Inc. v. Carpenter, No. 08-678 (to be argued 2009 Term))

I must wonder whether I'm back in Civil Procedure listening to yet another hypothetical from a professor who wants a guest slot on The Paper Chase, not whether the "rule" to be announced is:

(1) A hard case that makes bad law;
(2) An easy case that makes bad law;
(3) Anybody really cares;
(4) There is a victim with a grievance seeking justice, for some value of "justice"

Then, later, when one reads the dry factual summary in the matter -- or, perhaps, a lament opening a dissent ("Poor Joshua!") -- it becomes a bit clearer what is happening: An attempt to make law into something that might be replicated in a laboratory.

A critical part of being a judge is recognizing that rulings have human consequences to real human beings. The President is calling that "empathy" in this context, because today's news cycle/system and rhetoric of public debate require easy labels.