Senate panel begins hearing on liberal California judicial nominee
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Republicans began what they promised would be an intense grilling of the qualifications of Goodwin Liu as the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday began its consideration of the nomination of the California law professor to a federal appellate court.
Liu, a California law professor generally regarded by Republicans as a liberal activist judge, was nominated to the nation’s most liberal court, the 9th Circuit, which covers much of the West. He was one of five judicial nominees to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday.
Friday’s proceedings are a taste of the kind of battle expected when President Obama nominates his next candidate to the Supreme Court.
Republicans wasted no time setting the parameters for the debate. Alabama’s Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican, said he strongly disagreed with Liu’s vision of the role of a judge.
Liu “is the very vanguard of what I would call judicial activism,” Sessions said. Citing Liu’s writings, Sessions described Liu’s philosophy as one that “empowers a judge to expand government and find rights that have never been found before.”
Sessions also argued that the nomination shows Obama’s judicial thinking.
“It says something about his approach to the law, his philosophy to the law,” Sessions argued, citing a theme that was common during the confirmation hearing for Justice Sonia Sotomayor and will be a theme in the next Supreme Court nominee’s hearing as well.
Sen Dianne Feinstein (D-California) defended Liu, noting that she had never received a letter of support signed by three university presidents.
Feinstein also cited Liu’s qualifications as a former Rhodes scholar, former Supreme Court clerk and assistant dean at UC Berkeley. She and other Democrats repeatedly refer to his reputation as a brilliant constitutional scholar.
The 9th Circuit hears appeals from lower courts in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Hawaii and Montana. It is considered the most liberal of the appellate circuits.
There are no Asian Americans actively serving on the federal circuit courts, although Obama also has nominated U.S. District Judge Denny Chin for the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Hearings on Liu have been twice delayed because of GOP opposition. But recent political events have given the hearing more urgency.
With the retirement after this session of Justice John Paul Stevens, Obama has been urged to pick another liberal for the top court.
Democrats have 59 senators in their caucus, not enough to break a GOP filibuster on their own. It is also an election year and traditionally the majority party loses seats, meaning Democrats could have even more problems replacing a liberal after November.
Democrats have been quick to point out that some conservatives support the nomination, including Kenneth Starr, the former independent counsel whose investigation led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.
But that support isn’t expected to stop Republicans, who have accumulated numerous Liu quotes in writings and speeches.
One of them cited: ‘The question ... is not how the Constitution would have been applied at the founding, but rather how it should be applied today ... in light of changing needs, conditions and understandings of our society.’
--Michael Muskal
