Breaking the Oath

According to uspolitics.about.com, the following is the oath of office that Supreme Court Justices must take:

"I, [NAME], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as [TITLE] under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God."

The oath is pretty simple, justice is meant to be administered without respect to persons or socioeconomic status. Judgment is to be rendered in an impartial manner with respect only to the laws and Constitution of the United States. In other words, justice is blind to everything except the law. That is the definition of a society that is governed by the rule of law. The rule of law is the cornerstone of a fair legal system.

When President Obama uses words like “empathy” and “compassion” to describe his ideal pick for Supreme Court Justice, he is paying no mind to the rule of law. Nowhere in the oath of office can I find where a justice is to use compassion or empathy to decide a case. A justice is supposed to make a reasoned and logical decision based on the law, not the color of a person’s skin, not their ethnicity and not their social or financial situation.

Sonia Sotomayor, according to President Obama, will be compassionate and empathetic. The President would not have chosen Judge Sotomayor if he did not believe that she would live up to his standards. What I do not understand is how Justice Sotomayor, should she be confirmed, or any justice for that matter, will be able to keep their oath and be compassionate and/or empathetic. The oath leaves no room for compromise; decisions are to be made without regard to compassion or empathy.

Essentially, President Obama has nominated Judge Sotomayor and will be displeased with her performance if she adheres solely to her oath of office. He will be satisfied only if she breaks her oath and considers the human aspect of a case with empathy and compassion before making a decision. President Obama expects all of his Supreme Court nominees to break their oath of office and disregard the rule of law, perhaps not in all cases, but in some. I hope that someone will be able to explain to me how the same President who refuses to compromise on morality willingly accepts that justices on the highest court in the land ought to compromise the rule of law.