American Pacific University

Judicial nominee Liu deserves approval

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the United States. From laborers who were vital to the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s to leaders such as Michelle Kwan (world champion figure skater) and retired U.S. Army Four Star Gen. Eric Shinseki (current secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs), Asian Pacific Americans have contributed to almost all aspects of American life.

But despite their achievements in the social, legal and economic sphere of American life, Asian Pacific Americans are rarely chosen for the federal judiciary. Among the approximately 875 federal judges with lifetime tenure in the U.S., only 14 are Asian Pacific American. The percentage is even lower among active federal appellate court judges, where only one out of 175 is Asian Pacific American. In U.S. history, there have been only five Asian Pacific American federal appellate court judges.

Shockingly, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit — the federal appellate court covering the West Coast and Hawaii, where almost 40 percent of all Asian Pacific Americans in the U.S. reside — has no Asian Pacific Americans. Indeed, the Ninth Circuit has not had an active Asian Pacific American federal appellate judge since 2004, even though that court traditionally has had at least one on the bench during the prior 30 years.

That oversight can and should change soon, and the Senate has the opportunity to do that. Professor Goodwin Liu, of the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Law, has been nominated by President Obama to serve on the Ninth Circuit Court. Liu was first nominated more than a year ago, on Feb. 24, 2010. He has waited longer for a full Senate vote than any appellate court nominee during the Obama administration. During that time, he has provided approximately five hours of testimony and submitted over a thousand pages of documents. He has been scrutinized more than any Obama nominee except for Supreme Court justices. 

Liu is well overdue for a confirmation vote by the full Senate. As a former Cabinet member for both a Republican and a Democrat, I understand and respect the role that the Senate plays in evaluating presidential nominations. Nevertheless, that evaluation must at some point result in a decision. The Senate should not hide behind secret holds, cloture votes and filibuster threats to prevent an up or down vote. When that vote is called, Senators should vote in favor of this exceptionally qualified, measured and inspirational second-generation Asian Pacific American nominee.

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