Civil and Human Rights Coalition Applauds Nomination of Goodwin Liu to the California Supreme Court

July 27, 2011 - Posted by Ron Bigler

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights welcomed the news that California Governor Jerry Brown has nominated law professor Goodwin Liu to serve on the state's supreme court.

In a statement on Liu's nomination, Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference, said:

Goodwin Liu will make an exceptional justice on the California Supreme Court. Liu’s stellar background, his intellectual honesty and independence, and his utmost respect for the Constitution and its values all make him an outstanding choice to join the highest court in our nation’s most populous state.

We’re confident that, if confirmed, Liu will demonstrate the wisdom, brilliance and fair-mindedness that have made him a legal superstar in both private practice and academia, including at the prestigious UC Berkeley School of Law, where he earned tenure and was promoted to Associate Dean within five years of joining the faculty...

Governor Brown is to be commended for nominating Liu and for considering a diverse roster of potential candidates to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Associate Justice Carlos Moreno. The process that the governor used is in keeping with his long history of commitment to diversity on the bench, which includes the appointments of the first African-American, Latino, and woman to the state Supreme Court.

Liu, an acclaimed scholar, teacher, and nationally recognized expert on constitutional and education law, was nominated by President Obama for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. But a Republican-led filibuster in May denied Liu a full vote in the U.S. Senate.