2005—Explaining his decision to vote against the confirmation of John Roberts as Chief Justice, then-Senator Barack Obama concocts his lawless “empathy” standard for judges, as he contends that judicial decisions in “truly difficult” cases require resort to “one’s deepest values, one’s core concerns, one’s broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one’s empathy.… [I]n those difficult cases, the critical ingredient is supplied by what is in the judge’s heart.”
2022—An Indiana state judge, Kelsey B. Hanlon, issues a preliminary injunction (in Planned Parenthood v. Medical Licensing Board) against Indiana’s newly enacted abortion law on the ground that the law’s general ban on abortion violates the state constitution’s declaration that “people … are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights [and] that among these [rights] are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” In June 2023, the Indiana supreme court will vacate the preliminary injunction.