There is a big hew and cry from the right about President Obama seeking a Supreme Court Justice who has empathy. Whether empathy has any place in the law has been debated for generations. See "Empathy and the Law", Stanley Fish, New York Times, 2009-05-24.
Empathy has existed in the law for generations. How many judges have let people off with a warning rather than impose the maximum sentence? How many juries have failed to convict because they felt a defendant didn't get a fair hearing, even when the presented facts implied otherwise?
I remember hearing about a traffic judge in the Twin Cities who would let a traffic offender go if the excuse made him laugh.
How many police officers don't follow through with an arrest or a ticket because they felt there were extenuating circumstances? I remember the time I went the wrong way on a one-way street. I realized my mistake and was ready to turn around when a patrol car came down the street. The short story is that the officer said, "Why don't you turn around?"
If any of those who think empathy has no place in the law ever are caught evading taxes or driving drunk, may the judge impose the maximum allowable sentence on them.
