Senator Boxer on the Nomination of Goodwin Liu

Statement

Dear Friend:

As you may know, President Obama recently nominated the distinguished UC Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu to serve on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

I am very pleased by this inspired choice. Professor Liu is a proven authority on constitutional law with a keen intellect. When confirmed, he will be the only active status Asian-American judge on the Ninth Circuit. Currently there are no active status Asian-American federal appeals court judges in the United States. In October, President Obama nominated Denny Chin, a District Court Judge from New York, to serve on the U.S. Second District Court of Appeals.

Professor Liu is now associate dean and professor of law at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law. He clerked for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2000 and has worked with the Department of Education and the San Francisco Unified School District.

His parents, both physicians, emigrated to the United States from Taiwan. Goodwin Liu graduated from Rio Americano High School in Sacramento as co-valedictorian. He also served as a page in the U.S. House of Representatives, which sparked his interest in government, law, and politics.

Professor Liu graduated from Stanford University Phi Beta Kappa and earned his law degree from Yale Law School. He was also a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.

In Goodwin Liu, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will gain a constitutional scholar and legal authority of the highest order. Be assured that I will work with colleagues to see that he is confirmed by the Senate in a timely manner.

Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer, US Senator, California

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