Empathy - guess who just got some?
Hello:
And, guess who didn't?
The IDEA of empathy being part of the law is not NEW. It's alive and well, and is embodied in the concept of "equity" and "jury nullification". So, it was refreshing to see that empathy is NOT dead on the Supreme Court, either.
The idea in practice, allows leeway in applying the rule of the law. It's often unappreciated by judges and a few of our members. They insist the law means only what it says, and nothing else.
That originalist viewpoint was evident in 2008 when a federal appeals court refused to allow a lower court to consider a death-penalty conviction because the defendants lawyer had, inexcusably let the filing deadline pass. Fortunately, seven members of the Supreme Court proved less rigid in their thinking on Monday and reversed that blinkered decision.
Which righty's have the dreaded empathy?? Roberts and Alito. Who still wears blinders? Scalia and Thomas.
Things are looking up.
excon