Legal Commentary

Obama Finally Nominates a Liberal Appeals Court Judge

By Jeralyn

President Obama has nominated Goodman Liu, age 39, to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Finally, he's nominated a liberal.

Goodwin Liu, 39, is an unabashed liberal legal scholar who, if confirmed, could become a force on the federal appeals court for decades. There's talk that in time, the Rhodes Scholar, former high court clerk and current assistant dean and law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, could be the first person of Asian descent chosen for the Supreme Court.

Jeff Sessions isn't happy. That's a good sign. Obama needs to realize his efforts to appease Republicans by nominating centrists isn't working:

Only six of Obama's 15 appeals court nominees have been confirmed even though the president's choices have seemed designed to avoid "high-profile fights," in the words of Curt Levey of the conservative Committee for Justice.

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By nominating young liberals to the appeals courts, they could serve for decades, far longer than Obama is in office. And they are our protection in case Republicans retake the Presidency -- not to mention the Senate, which confirms them.

A battle over Liu, or efforts to stall his confirmation, may lie ahead. You can go here to a site started by Jonathan Singer of MYDD to learn more about him, sign a petition to confirm him or get the link to his Facebook fan page. Jonathan is in law school at Berkeley, and a student of Professor Liu.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on March 13, 2010 (boomark / email).