Forum (Forum & Focus)
Jun. 6, 2009
Background Check
As presented by the president and his Supreme Court nominee, framing issues in racialist terms perverts the proper role of empathy within the law, writes Joerg W. Knipprath.
FORUM COLUMN
By Joerg W. Knipprath It is an unremarkable common-sense truth that we are shaped by our experiences and backgrounds. A problem arises, however, if such a general verity is given normative approval to be used in judging legal disputes, a matter that calls for such factors to be carefully circumscribed. President Obama, setting out his ideal qualification for judges, focused on empathy, on understanding for people who are "poor or Afri...For only $95 a month (the price of 2 article purchases)
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