Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues The Obama Administration Obama picks Sotomayor for high court

I seem to get the idea from some comments here and elsewhere that reason and empathy are exclusive.

I'm not a regular follower of Supreme Court decisions but it appears to me that cases that can be decided by a clear-cut reference to the law seldom make it to the Supreme Court. It would seem to me that the Court hears mostly cases in which the law and/or its Constitutionality is open to interpretation.

If Supreme Court cases were simply a matter of applying/not applying the law, a good law student could go straight from the bar exam to a seat on the Court and little would be lost. It is judgment, as well as (if not more than) knowledge of the law, that makes a good judge, and - speaking only for myself here - in my opinion reason and empathy are both important factors in good judgment.