Panel confirms (Goodwin) Liu to state Supreme Court

[alp227]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

(08-31) 16:29 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Barely three months after Senate Republicans denounced Goodwin Liu as a left-wing extremist and torpedoed his nomination to a federal appeals court, a state commission today unanimously confirmed the UC Berkeley law professor to the California Supreme Court.

The Commission on Judicial Appointments voted 3-0 to endorse Gov. Jerry Brown's nomination of the 40-year-old scholar to succeed the retired Justice Carlos Moreno as the only Democratic appointee on the seven-member court.

He is due to go before the state's voters in November 2014 for retention in office through 2022.

Liu joins the court in time for Tuesday's critical hearing on Proposition 8, the 2008 initiative that outlawed same-sex marriage in California. The justices will consider whether California law allows the measure's sponsors to represent the interests of the state and its voters in appealing a federal judge's decision that Prop. 8 is unconstitutional.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/31/BAKN1KUAUI.DTL

[jaxx]

1. Glad to hear this.

[blueclown]

2. This is what we are fighting for in 2012.

For justices like Goodwin Liu to be on the Supreme Court in the near future. Whenever you get down about President Obama, just remember that.

[gratuitous]

7. We're fighting for that

But sadly, Democrats and the President don't seem very interested in that fight. Liu was nominated for the Ninth Circuit, but he never got to a floor vote because of holds and a filibuster by the Republicans, and there was no concerted effort by the administration or Majority Leader Reid to push Liu's nomination for one of those "up or down votes" Republicans are always squawking for. Instead, the nomination was allowed to languish and Liu finally withdrew his name from consideration.

California's gain is the rest of the nation's loss. And progressive judicial candidates, seeing the lack of effort put forth for Liu, can probably be forgiven for being reluctant to have their names put forward in the future.

[SoapBox]

3. Excellent!

but wait...he is the ONLY Dem on the court?

How the hell is that fair?

[Tx4obama]

5. Yep, looks like the other six current justices were appointed by Republicans

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_California#Current_membership

[FrenchieCat]

4. Yes!

:bounce:

[usregimechange]

6. We won this one after all