Goodwin Liu (pictured)
By Suevon Lee
The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and Asian American Justice Center announced a joint public education initiative and website this afternoon to spur Senate confirmation of UC Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu, the Obama appointee to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The website, ConfirmNow.org, gives background information on Liu, an overview of his stalled confirmation process and the importance of diversity in the courts. It provides a link to a petition directed at U.S. Senators Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell and offers up three different “Confirm Goodwin Liu” bumper stickers for $5 apiece.
The call to action comes a day after the White House re-nominated Liu and Judge Edward M. Chen to the federal bench after the Senate returned the names before recessing in August. They are among four Asian Pacific Americans currently awaiting confirmation to the federal bench.
“We anticipate that Judge [Leslie] Kobayashi and Edmond Chang will be confirmed in due course,” NAPABA president Joseph J. Centeno said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “The road ahead remains less clear for Judge Ed Chen and Professor Goodwin Liu, who have both encountered a host of unnecessary delays in their respective confirmation processes.”
Chen was nominated to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by President Obama in August 2009. Liu was nominated February 24. Some advocacy groups believe the nominees, up against Republican opposition, are being used as pawns in a partisan game. With the Senate now back in session, groups are pushing for confirmation.
“We want to harness the power of social media to expand this message,” Emily Chatterjee, Policy Director for NAPABA, said during the call.
Although APAs constitute 5 percent of the U.S. population, they fill just a little more than 1 percent of federal judgeships.
