As Barack Obama sees it, Lady Justice should be peeking out from underneath the blindfold when she makes legal decisions. Lady Justice is often depicted wearing a blindfold. This represents the traditional American belief that all should be equal before the law. Justice is -- or should be -- meted out objectively, without bias, favor or fear, regardless of power, weakness or identity.
Barack Obama doesn't agree justice should be blind. He looks to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court with a judge whom he says has "empathy and understanding." Other criteria he wants in a jurist is "somebody with a sharp and independent mind" (code for a willingness to buck tradition), "and a record of excellence and integrity." In blunt words, he wants an activist judge.
The term "judicial activism" first surfaced in a 1947 article written by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. for Fortune magazine. He divided the Supreme Court Justices of his time into three groups based upon their level of activism: the Judicial Activists, the Judicial Self-Restrained, and those falling in the middle.Click Here Read the Rest of the Story:
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