Nomination of Goodwin Liu Heads to Full Senate

In what has increasingly become a proxy for Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines today to endorse the nomination of Goodwin Liu to a federal appellate judgeship.

Liu's nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has drawn more intense Republican opposition than any of President Barack Obama's other lower-court nominations. No GOP senators have said they’ll support him, and opponents have cited his relative inexperience and his writings on constitutional interpretation.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the committee’s top Republican, made the most direct attempt of any senator so far to tie Liu’s contentious nomination to Kagan’s.

“In Solicitor General Kagan, President Obama has chosen another academic who has focused on policy the majority of her career, including in the Clinton White House, and who has never been a judge or seriously practiced law,” Sessions said.

Liu, 39, is a law professor and associate dean at the University of California, Berkeley, whose litigation experience consists largely of two years in the Washington office of O’Melveny & Myers. He has sometimes been mentioned as a future Democratic nominee to the Supreme Court. Kagan, 50, was until a year ago a law professor and dean of the Harvard Law School, whose litigation experience before becoming solicitor general consisted largely of two years at the Washington firm Williams & Connolly.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) noted that Republican presidents, including George W. Bush, frequently picked nominees who had not sat on the bench.

“With the 24 Bush nominees who went on the court of appeals without having been judges, I never heard one single objection from the Republican side,” Leahy said.

In supporting Liu, Democrats have cited his academic record (Stanford, Rhodes Scholar, Yale Law), his clerkships for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and D.C. Circuit Judge David Tatel, and his academic work on education policy. Liu has also been active in liberal legal groups, such as the American Constitution Society, and in 2006 he testified against the confirmation of Justice Samuel Alito Jr.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) highlighted three appellate judges who came from law schools and who were in their 30s when nominated by a Republican president: Frank Easterbrook of the 7th Circuit, Kimberly Moore of the Federal Circuit, and J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the 4th Circuit.

“Here are three very young people, all Republicans, with no bench experience, that are now circuit judges. So what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, as well,” Feinstein said.

Republicans also seized on a comment Liu made during his April 16 confirmation hearing, when he said, “Whatever I may have written, in the books and articles, would have no bearing on my role as a judge.” They said Liu’s comment was inconsistent with the fact that much of his writing related to how judges should interpret statutes and the constitution.

“He tells opponents to ignore his record. He tells supporters to look at his record,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). “That record,” Hatch added, “consistently and strongly allows judges to find the meaning of the constitution anywhere they want to look.”

With a 12-7 vote by the Judiciary Committee, Liu’s nomination will head to the full Senate. A confirmation vote could be months away, and Republicans have not ruled out a filibuster.

Comments

[Skeptic]

Alex T. is, in what he writes above, correct. But what we really need is more coverage of this story. How did this nomination come about? Who championed Liu? Wasn't the White House aware of what Alex calls his habit of scholarly "sleights of hand"? (Anyone here ever read his work on "Bakke"?) And where does this nomination now stand?

[Rick]

Alex,

I don't think there is any doubt that Goodwin Liu is probably a registered Democrat & a left of center individual...But that doesn't mean he isn't fit to serve on the court....On his hearing last Thurs., Senator Feinstein was reading off some names of Reagan & Bush judicial appointees who were confirmed at a realatively young age w/little experience, and let's be honest, these people were hard-core conservatives...Furthermore, Professor Liu has the backing of several conservatives incl. Ken Starr (certainly no left wing guy there!) & William Coleman, among others....

I was actually hoping President Obama would have named Liu as Stevens' replacement, but he stuck w/the very moderate Elena Kagan..

http://www.confirmgoodwin.com/

[Alex T]

Unlike most of Obama's nominations, Goodwin Liu is a terrible nomination. In his very short career, he has demonstrated almost no relevant experience, but has shown that he lacks integrity.

Before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Liu omitted many of his prior statements, which just happened to include some of the comments he knew would be most incendiary and controversial (such as public comments about wanting to see three Supreme Court precedents "swept into the dustbin of history." That cannot possibly have been a coincidence, or innocent oversight.

Liu's apparently deliberate failure to deprive the Senate and the public of his full record -- for no other reason than to enhance his chances for confirmation to a lifetime position -- is consistent with other ways in which Liu has displayed an appalling lack of integrity. His attacks on Justice Alito's death penalty views were not only demagogic, they were intellectually dishonest as well. In fact, it seems that many of his arguments contain sleights of hand, distorting both the facts and the law to arrive at a certain and foregone conclusion.

Little is more important to the task of being a federal judge than integrity. Yet, integrity is something that has few direct measures. Judicial experience is relevant not only because it reveals a candidate's temperament, but also is a crucible for testing one's integrity in applying the law.

For a lifetime position that requires the utmost in integrity and candor, Goodwin Liu has already demonstrated, at the tender young age of 39, that he is utterly lacking in both. If he cannot be trusted to complete a questionnaire on his own record -- with the clear intent of hiding things that might get in the way of a certain desired outcome, viz. confirmation -- how can he be trusted to make impartial and disinterested decisions on the most important issues facing our courts?

I agree with Rick that elections have consequences and that virtually all of Obama's nominations should be confirmed swiftly. Not so for Goodwin Liu. This particular nomination MUST be filibustered. Whatever it takes. I hope the Republicans don't wimp out on this, like they usually do.

[Kirk Michael]

Well, Hasn't Goodwin Liu himself slapped in the face to President Obama already when he said "Whatever I may have written, in the books and articles, would have no bearing on my role as a judge." at the hearing? Come on, aren't his writtings the basis of nomination by Obama?

[Rick]

Senate democrats need to get the full senate vote for Goodwin Liu done ASAP....Republicans will no doubt come up with their usual song & dance about activist judges, blah, blah, blah....See, Republicans don't mind judicial activism if it suits their wims...Their hypocrisy is astounding...

Goodwin Liu is very qualified to be a judge...Elections have consequences, Democrats had to accept 8 years of far right judges & justices to the bench...It was George Bush's right as POTUS to make far right judicial nominations, and he did....Well, President Obama is entitled to the appoint whomever he wants to the courts as well...

Come on Democrats, step up & get Goodwin Liu confirmed before the August recess....To delay it past that would be an inexcusable travesty & a slap in the face to President Obama....Bush got his nominees confirmed w/no more than 55 Republicans in the senate. Democrats have 59...Get the Liu nomination thru, Now...