[奥巴马的标准是“同情心”。他说，我要寻求的大法官人选所理解的正义，不是抽象的法律理论，也不是案例书上的脚注，而是法律如何影响普通人日常的生活。这种法官是有同情心的法官。奥巴马认为，得出正义的判决结果，所需要的主要条件之一正是同情心，也就是理解并且认同普通人心中的希望和进行的抗争。]

Speaking to his choice to fill the seat soon to be vacated by Justice Souter, Obama said, “I will seek someone who understands that justice isn’t about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a casebook; it is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people’s lives.” That kind of judge, Obama explained, will have empathy: “I view the quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people’s hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes.”

See Empathy and the Law.