JUDGE ROY MOORE AND FOUNDATION FOR MORAL LAW NOTE OBAMA KEPT PROMISE TO NOMINATE JUDGE WITH “EMPATHY,” NOT FAITHFULNESS TO THE CONSTITUTION

May 27 , 2009

Barack Obama pledged that his criteria for selecting judges would be their “empathy” for certain classes of people rather than their judicial philosophy or their record of upholding the Constitution, the supreme law of the land. Yesterday, with his nomination of Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor, Obama fulfilled his promise to turn the judicial role on its head in favor of “heart.” Sotomayor has demonstrated by her own words that she thinks the federal judiciary is an activist, lawmaking branch and that Latina women like her make better judges than “white males.”

In 2005, Sotomayor stated that the “court of appeals is where policy is made,” showing that she thinks judges make laws instead of applying the law as it is. Moreover, in a 2001 speech at the Univ. of California, Berkeley Law School, Sotomayor expressed her belief that “a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.”

Judge Roy Moore, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, stated:

“Barack Obama has been busy violating the principles of separation of powers, limited powers, and other constitutional provisions to achieve his radical policies; now he has kept his promise to remake the Supreme Court in his own image. Judge Sotomayor may have the ‘empathy' to be a legislator, but her unconstitutional views of the judicial role and her favoritism for certain classes of people make her unqualified to be in the judicial branch, much less a judge on the U.S. Supreme Court. It is time for Senators to ask Obama and Sotomayor the tough question--Should judges be oath-bound or empathy-driven?”

The Foundation for Moral Law will continue to review Judge Sotomayor's record and public statements and actions during the nomination process. It is largely up to the U.S. Senate, however, to ensure that Sotomayor can be trusted to apply the law and the Constitution impartially and as written.

The Foundation for Moral Law, a national religious-liberties organization, is located in Montgomery, Alabama, and is dedicated to restoring the knowledge of God in law and government through litigation relating to moral issues and religious liberty, as well as education consisting of forums for pastors, lawyers, judges, and the general public.

For more information about the Foundation for Moral Law, please visit www.morallaw.org.