Goodwin Liu

{{Short description|American judge (born 1970)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Goodwin Liu | native_name = {{small|{{nobold|劉弘威}}}} | image = Goodwin Liu Standard Portrait.jpg | caption = Liu in 2010 | office = Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court | appointer = Jerry Brown | term_start = September 1, 2011 | term_end = | predecessor = Carlos Moreno | successor = | birth_name = Goodwin Hon Liu | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|10|19}} | birth_place = Augusta, Georgia, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = Democratic<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gerhart |first1=Bryan |title=Goodwin Liu's CA Supreme Court Nod Could Mean Big Win For Civil Rights |url=https://colorlines.com/article/goodwin-lius-ca-supreme-court-nod-could-mean-big-win-civil-rights/ |website=Goodlines |date=July 28, 2011}}</ref> | spouse = {{marriage|Ann O'Leary|2002|2016|end=sep}} | partner = Jane Kim (2016–present) | education = Stanford University (BS) {{no wrap|Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford}} (MPhil) Yale University (JD) | module = {{Infobox Chinese | child = yes | hide = yes | t = 劉弘威 | s = 刘弘威 | p = Liú Hóngwēi | bpmf = ㄌㄧㄡˊㄏㄨㄥˊㄨㄟ | poj = Lâu Hông-ui}} }} '''Goodwin Hon Liu''' ({{Lang-zh|t=劉弘威|p=Liú Hóngwēi}}; born October 19, 1970)<ref>{{cite web |date=2012 |title=Justice Goodwin Liu |url=https://scocal.stanford.edu/justice/justice-goodwin-liu-34018 |access-date=June 5, 2024 |website=Robert Crown Law Library |publisher=Stanford Law School}}</ref> is an American jurist who has served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California since 2011. Before his appointment by Governor Jerry Brown, he was a professor of law and associate dean at the University of California, Berkeley.<ref name="law.berkeley.edu">{{cite web |url=http://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/faculty/facultyProfile.php?facID=4360 |title=Berkeley Law - Faculty Profiles |publisher=UC Berkeley School of Law |access-date=2011-05-19 |archive-date=2016-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808044109/https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/faculty/facultyProfile.php?facID=4360 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As of 2024, Liu is the S. William Green Visiting Professor of Public Law at Harvard Law School.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Fall 2024 |title=Goodwin Liu: The Honorable S. William Green Visiting Professor of Public Law |url=https://hls.harvard.edu/faculty/goodwin-liu/ |access-date=2025-02-16 |website= |publisher=Harvard Law School |language=en-us}}</ref>

The son of Taiwanese American immigrants, Liu graduated from Stanford University and earned a master's degree from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. After graduating from Yale Law School, he served as a law clerk to Judge David Tatel and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. On February 24, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Liu to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.<ref name=whgov_20100224>[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-nominates-goodwin-liu-united-states-court-appeals-ninth-circuit-jud "President Obama Nominates Goodwin Liu for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Judge Robert N. Chatigny for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit"], whitehouse.gov (February 24, 2010).</ref> For more than a year, Liu's nomination was delayed amid significant opposition from Republicans in the U.S. Senate.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hulse |first=Carl |date=2011-05-19 |title=G.O.P. Blocks Judicial Nominee in a Sign of Battles to Come |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/us/politics/20congress.html |access-date=2022-08-18 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> On May 19, 2011, the Senate failed to invoke cloture on Liu's nomination with the necessary supermajority in a 52–43 vote,<ref name="senate2">{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=1&vote=00074 |title=Senate Roll Call |publisher=Senate.gov |date=2009-03-26 |access-date=2011-05-19}}</ref> and on May 25, 2011, Liu informed President Obama that he was withdrawing his name from consideration to the seat on the Ninth Circuit.<ref>{{cite news |author=Dahlia Lithwick |title=Goodwin Liu Withdraws |date=May 25, 2011 |publisher=Slate |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2295572/}}</ref>

On July 26, 2011, Governor Jerry Brown nominated Liu to a seat on the Supreme Court of California, succeeding Associate Justice Carlos R. Moreno.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/26/BA071KF8DV.DTL|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727012940/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/26/BA071KF8DV.DTL|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 27, 2011|title=Brown nominates Goodwin Liu for state high court|date=July 27, 2011|first=Bob|last=Egelko|work=San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref> Three days later, President Obama formally notified the Senate that he was withdrawing Liu's nomination for the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.<ref name="thomas.loc.gov">[https://web.archive.org/web/19971224191949/http://thomas.loc.gov/ Congressional Record for the Senate of July 29, 2011]</ref> Liu was sworn into the California Supreme Court on September 1, 2011.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Egelko|first1=Bob|title=Why you should care about who will sit on California's Supreme Court|url=http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/Why-you-should-care-about-who-will-sit-on-11541975.php|access-date=August 20, 2017|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=July 28, 2017}}</ref>

== Early life and education  == Liu was born in Augusta, Georgia, to a Taiwanese American family.<ref name=":0" /> His parents, Wen-Pen (劉文彬) and Yang-Ching Liu (蔡洋清), were Taiwanese doctors who immigrated to the United States from Taiwan as part of a program that recruited physicians in primary care to practice in rural areas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dalton Jr. |first=Roy B. |author-link=Roy B. Dalton Jr. |date=March 2, 2011 |title=Nomination Hearing on U.S. Circuit and U.S. District Judges |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-112shrg71212/html/CHRG-112shrg71212.htm |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=United States Committee on the Judiciary |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office}}</ref> His older brother, Kingsway, is also a doctor.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Morain |first=Dan |date=January 27, 2011 |title=Commentary: Obama, Senate must step up on judicial nominees |url=https://www.mcclatchydc.com/opinion/article24608923.html |access-date=16 February 2025 |work=The Sacramento Bee |via=McClatchy}}</ref> When Goodwin was three years old, the family moved to rural Clewiston, Florida, and he learned English for the first time while attending school there.{{Refn|Liu did not know how to speak English until kindergarten.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-04-09 |title=Judicial nominee's liberal credentials draw criticism |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2010/04/09/judicial-nominee-s-liberal-credentials-draw-criticism/ |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=The Dallas Morning News |language=en}}</ref>|group=lower-alpha}} In 1977, they relocated to Sacramento, California, where he attended public schools.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Carol J. |date=2010-03-09 |title=9th Circuit candidate's career marked by rapid ascent, wide-ranging roles |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-mar-09-la-me-goodwin-liu9-2010mar09-story.html |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=The Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Liu performed well academically and joined the Cub Scouts in fourth grade.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Shatz |first=Benjamin G. |date=November 15, 2016 |title=Amazing Cool: Keeping Up With Goodwin Liu |url=https://www.manatt.com/Manatt/media/Documents/Articles/Ch-1_Lui.pdf |journal=California Litigation Review |volume=1 |pages=1–5}}</ref>

Due to having a limited proficiency in English, Liu spent nights studying dictionaries to increase his vocabulary for the SAT.<ref name=":0" /> He was educated at Sacramento's Rio Americano High School and became the captain of its tennis team,<ref name=":1" /> ultimately graduating in 1985 at age 15 as valedictorian of his high school class.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tedford |first=Deborah |date=April 16, 2010 |title=Obama Bench Nominee Draws Heated GOP Resistance |url=https://www.npr.org/2010/04/16/126054063/obama-bench-nominee-draws-heated-gop-resistance |access-date=August 17, 2024 |work=NPR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-09-01 |title=Liu Sworn In To California Supreme Court |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/liu-sworn-in-to-california-supreme-court/ |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=CBS News |language=en-US}}</ref> During his junior year of high school, he was mentored by state representative Bob Matsui, who sponsored Liu to be a page of the United States House of Representatives.<ref name=":1" /> After winning a statewide science competition at age 16, Liu was selected by California governor George Deukmejian to enroll in a special program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.<ref name=":5" />

After high school, Liu studied biology at Stanford University with the intent to enter medical school.<ref name=":1" /> He received multiple distinguished awards as an undergraduate,{{Refn|Stanford awarded Liu its Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for Outstanding Service to Undergraduate Education, the James W. Lyons Dean's Award for Service, the Booth prize for Excellence in Writing, the Walter Vincenti prize, a David Starr Jordan Scholarship, and the university's President's Award for Academic Excellence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Feinstein |first=Dianne |author-link=Dianne Feinstein |date=April 16, 2010 |title=Nominations Hearing of U.S. Circuit and U.S. District Judges |url=https://www.congress.gov/111/chrg/CHRG-111shrg65346/CHRG-111shrg65346.htm |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=United States Committee on the Judiciary |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office}}</ref> The Dinkelspiel Award is the university’s highest award for undergraduate service.<ref name=":2"/>|group=lower-alpha}} was elected co-president of the student body,<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |date=May 18, 2011 |title=Nomination of Goodwin Liu to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit |url=https://www.congress.gov/112/crec/2011/05/18/CREC-2011-05-18-pt1-PgS3086.pdf |journal=Congressional Record |page=S3096}}</ref> and worked as a reporter for ''The Stanford Daily''.<ref name=":1" /> While reporting on hate speech codes for the school newspaper as a freshman, he met Stanford Law professor Gerald Gunther; Liu recalled that, during one meeting, Gunther "talked about Nazism. He talked about societies that are far less free than ours. That was an amazing experience."<ref name=":1" /> During his senior year in college, Liu was a student leader at the Haas School of Business working with Stanford president Donald Kennedy.<ref name=":2" />

Liu graduated from Stanford with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in biology in 1991 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He was admitted to Harvard Medical School and the UCSF School of Medicine.<ref name=":1" /> A year earlier, however, Kennedy personally recommended Liu for a Rhodes Scholarship for overseas study in England at Oxford University.<ref name=":2" /> After winning the scholarship, Liu decided to defer his enrollment into medical school.<ref name=":1" />

As a Rhodes Scholar, Liu initially entered Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford,<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=2021 |title=Who is going to Law School? |url=https://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/2021-05/LMH%20News%202021%20Issue%204.pdf |access-date=August 17, 2024 |work=LMH News |publisher=Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford |pages=20–21 |issue=4}}</ref> to begin a doctoral program in immunology, but decided against a medical career because "it was too far removed from the things that really moved me."<ref name=":1" /> He studied philosophy instead, graduating with a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in psychology, philosophy and physiology in 1993.<ref name=":3" /> Liu then returned to the United States to attend Yale Law School, where he became an editor of ''The Yale Law Journal'' and received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1998.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2011-07-27 |title=At a glance: Goodwin Liu |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/la-xpm-2011-jul-27-la-me-0727-goodwin-liu-biobox-20110727-story.html |access-date=2024-08-18 |website=The Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Berkeley Law - Faculty Profiles">{{cite web|url=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/faculty/facultyProfile.php?facID=4360|title=Goodwin Liu - Berkeley Law - Faculty Profiles|publisher=University of California, Berkeley|access-date=2014-12-28|archive-date=2016-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808044109/https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/faculty/facultyProfile.php?facID=4360|url-status=dead}}</ref> In law school, he was a summer associate at the law firm of Covington & Burling and was a teaching assistant to professors Owen Fiss and Drew Days for civil procedure.<ref name=":4">{{cite web |date=2010 |title=Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Good Hon Liu |url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/GoodwinLiu-PublicQuestionnaireUpdate.pdf |access-date=June 5, 2024 |website=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary}}</ref>

==Career== thumb|Liu speaking After graduating from Yale, Liu served as a law clerk for Judge David S. Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 1998–1999, who Liu described as "without a doubt the most important mentor I’ve had in my legal career."<ref name=":1" /> He then became a special assistant to the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education for a year and worked as a contract attorney at Nixon Peabody.<ref name=":4" />

Liu clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court, where among other things, he contributed a draft to her dissent in ''Bush v. Gore''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=96546&tsp=1|title=Goodwin Liu had a hand in Bush v. Gore |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |author=Egelko, Bob|access-date=2011-08-31 |date=August 31, 2011}}{{dead link|date=February 2026|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> He also was a senior program officer for higher education at the Corporation for National Service (AmeriCorps). He is also a former chair of the board of directors of the American Constitution Society.<ref name="Brownnominee" />

He was a professor at University of California, Berkeley. He was elected to the American Law Institute in May 2008 and was elected to the ALI Council in May 2013. He currently serves as the chair of the ALI's committee on the Young Scholars Medal. He serves on the boards of the National Women's Law Center and the Alliance for Excellent Education.<ref name="Brownnominee" />

===Professorship=== He took a job at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where he became Associate Dean and Professor of Law.<ref name="law.berkeley.edu" /> In 2009 Liu was awarded the UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award.<ref name="Brownnominee" />

===Nomination to the Ninth Circuit=== {{quotebox|quote=So what's the lesson here? Is it that law students and young lawyers should be careful — careful about what you write, careful about what you say, careful about taking a position for fear of losing a future opportunity? Well, let me tell you, I have certainly said things, written things, that I later regretted. I have made mistakes I wish I could erase. We all have. But it would be wrong to conclude that the best way to go about life is to just play it safe.|align=right|width=30%|source= —Goodwin Liu American Constitution Society National Convention<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/06/18/500302/goodwin-liu-dawn-johnsen-and-the-danger-of-keeping-our-first-string-on-the-bench/?mobile=nc|title=Goodwin Liu, Dawn Johnsen and The Danger Of Keeping Our First String on The Bench|publisher=ThinkProgress|access-date=2012-07-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721140752/http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/06/18/500302/goodwin-liu-dawn-johnsen-and-the-danger-of-keeping-our-first-string-on-the-bench/?mobile=nc|archive-date=2012-07-21|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

On February 24, 2010, President Obama nominated Liu to a new judgeship seat on the Ninth Circuit created by the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007; which became effective on January 21, 2009. His nomination was filibustered by Republicans in the Senate and expired with the sine die adjournment of the 111th Congress.<ref>[http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16914047 "Boalt dean Liu's nomination to federal appeals court appears dead -- for now"].</ref> He was renominated to the same position on the first full day of the 112th Congress.<ref>{{cite web|author=David Kurtz |url=http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/01/round_2.php?ref=fpblg |title=Round 2 |publisher=Talking Points Memo |date=2011-01-05 |access-date=2011-05-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Perez|first=Evan|title=Obama Tries Again on Judicial Nominees|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704405704576064313360354954?mod=googlenews_wsj|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=4 February 2011|date=January 5, 2011}}</ref> On April 7, 2011, the Senate Judiciary Committee reported his nomination to the floor of the Senate by a party-line 10–8 vote.<ref name="senate1">{{cite web|url=http://judiciary.senate.gov |title=Senate Judiciary Committee |publisher=Judiciary.senate.gov |date=2010-07-08 |access-date=2011-05-19}}</ref>

However, Liu's nomination was harshly criticized by Senate Republicans for allegedly failing to disclose 117 of his more controversial writings and speeches.<ref>[https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republicans-slam-obama-judicial-nominee-over-117-omissions-from-record/ "Republicans Slam Obama Judicial Nominee Over 117 Omissions From Record"], FOX News, April 6, 2010.</ref> On April 6, 2010, Liu submitted the 117 requested items to the committee as a supplemental to the original questionnaire.<ref>{{cite news | first=Ben | last=Pershing | title=Senate Democrats defend 9th Circuit Court nominee Liu against GOP criticism | date=April 7, 2010 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/07/AR2010040703034.html?hpid=moreheadlines | newspaper=The Washington Post | access-date=April 7, 2010}}</ref> The committee hearing had been postponed twice particularly due to Republican opposition to Liu's judicial qualifications and record.<ref>[https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/66191-leahy-to-forge-ahead-with-liu-hearing-despite-gop-objections/ "Leahy to forge ahead with Liu hearing despite GOP objections"], ''The Hill'', April 7, 2010.</ref> Liu defended his writings as a scholar by saying that "there's a clear difference between what things people write as scholars and how one would approach the role of a judge".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2010-06-15-diversity-lower-courts_N.htm|title=Obama's push for court diversity hits snag|newspaper=USA Today|author-link=Joan Biskupic |author=Biskupic, Joan|date= 2010-06-15|access-date=2011-08-15}}</ref> On April 6, 2010, a letter was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy by the seven committee Republicans to request a third postponement, which was subsequently rejected.<ref>{{cite news | title=Leahy won't delay hearing for appeals court pick criticism | date=April 7, 2010 | url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j8bJNmgkNXos7jmYkKGzZWbuSe6QD9EUBSK80 | agency=Associated Press | access-date=April 7, 2010}}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Liu was also criticized for lack of trial-level experience. Prior to his nomination, Liu had not served as a judge and had argued only one case at the appellate court level as a lawyer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=35864 |title=Liu Nomination Pushes 9th Circuit Farther Left |publisher=Human Events |access-date=2011-05-19 |archive-date=2011-01-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125183951/http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=35864 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Liu's criticism of Chief Justice John Roberts and especially his statement during Samuel Alito's Supreme Court nomination<ref name="alito">{{cite web |url=http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=1725&wit_id=4902 |title=Testimony of Professor Goodwin Liu Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on the Nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to the United States Supreme Court |publisher=United States Senate Judiciary Committee |date=2006-01-10 |access-date=2011-05-20 |archive-date=2011-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523010119/http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=1725&wit_id=4902 |url-status=dead }}</ref> was targeted by Senate Republicans as proof of his lack of judicial temperament and partisanship. Liu later apologized and said that his words were "unduly harsh".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/us/politics/20congress.html|title=G.O.P. Blocks Judicial Nominee in a Sign of Battles to Come|author=Hulse, Carl |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2011-05-19|access-date=2011-08-15}}</ref>

On May 17, 2011, Senator Harry Reid filed a cloture motion on Liu's nomination.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r112:@FIELD%28FLD003+s%29+@FIELD%28DDATE+20110517%29 |title=Congressional Record May 17, 2011, Senate, Items 17 & 18 |publisher=Thomas.loc.gov |access-date=2011-05-19 |archive-date=2014-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141002043218/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r112:@FIELD(FLD003+s)+@FIELD(DDATE+20110517) |url-status=dead }}</ref> On May 19, 2011, the Senate rejected cloture in a mostly party-line vote of 52–43, with all but one Democrat (Ben Nelson) voting in favor of cloture and all but one Republican (Lisa Murkowski) voting against.<ref name="senate2" /> He became the first Obama judicial nominee to be successfully filibustered in the Senate.<ref name="ap">{{cite news|url=http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/05/19/senate-republicans-may-defeat-obama-pick-bench-uc-/ |title=Obama pick for bench blocked by GOP |author=Larry Margasak |publisher=Associated Press |date=2011-05-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519231931/http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/05/19/senate-republicans-may-defeat-obama-pick-bench-uc-/ |archive-date=2011-05-19 }}</ref> With the makeup of the Senate unlikely to change until after the 2012 election, Liu withdrew his name from consideration on May 25, 2011. On July 29, 2011, three days after California Governor Jerry Brown nominated Liu to a seat on the Supreme Court of California, President Obama formally notified the Senate that he was withdrawing Liu's nomination for the 9th Circuit.<ref name="thomas.loc.gov" /> In a talk before The City Club of Cleveland on February 22, 2013, Liu commented that the confirmation process is "inherently a political process" and "the Constitution was designed to make it a political process." He noted, however, that the problem with the confirmation process is that it has become transformed into requiring 60 votes as opposed to a bare majority, which was not part of the Constitutional design.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2PcG94Slbg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211220/D2PcG94Slbg |archive-date=2021-12-20 |url-status=live|title=The Honorable Goodwin Liu 2.22.13|website=YouTube |date=25 February 2013 |access-date=2013-02-25}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== California Supreme Court === [[File:Goodwin Liu Confirmation.jpg|thumb|Justice Liu and his wife, Ann O'Leary, shaking hands with Governor Jerry Brown after his swearing-in ceremony.]] On July 26, 2011, California Gov. Jerry Brown nominated Liu to a seat on the Supreme Court of California.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Executive calendar | date=2003-03-10 | url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/executive_calendar/xcalv.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030307230917/http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/executive_calendar/xcalv.pdf | archive-date=2003-03-07 | access-date=2018-02-16 | url-status=live }}</ref> In submitting his nomination, Brown said that "[Liu] is a nationally recognized expert on constitutional law and has experience in private practice, [in] government service and in the academic community. I know that he will be an outstanding addition to our state supreme court."<ref name="Brownnominee">{{cite web|url=http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=17139|title=Governor Brown Nominates Goodwin Liu for California Supreme Court|publisher=Governor of California|date=2011-07-26|access-date=2011-08-16}}</ref> Liu responded to his nomination with a prepared statement: "I'm deeply honored by Governor Brown's nomination and look forward to the opportunity to serve the people of California on our state's highest court."<ref name="Brownnominee" />

On August 30, the state bar commission that screens all nominees gave Liu a "unanimously well qualified" rating, describing him as "brilliant, impartial, and with a work ethic second to none ... [h]e has an unwavering commitment to equal access to justice and will treat all litigants fairly, without regard to wealth or position in society."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/08/goodwin-lius-appointment-to-california-supreme-court-expected-to-be-confirmed.html|title=Goodwin Liu expected to be confirmed to California Supreme Court |publisher=Los Angeles Times blog |date=2011-08-30|access-date=2011-08-31}}</ref> He was confirmed unanimously the next day by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, state Attorney General Kamala Harris, and Presiding Justice Joan Dempsey-Klein, the senior-most presiding justice serving on the California Court of Appeal. Ten witnesses testified in favor of his nomination and none testified against.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18798618|title=Goodwin Liu confirmed to California Supreme Court|newspaper= San Jose Mercury News |author=Mintz, Howard|date=2011-08-31|access-date=2011-08-31}}</ref>

Liu was sworn in on September 1, 2011, and took the bench on September 6, sitting on a procedural issue regarding the controversial ''Perry v. Schwarzenegger'' case.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/09/goodwin-liu-finally-takes-the-bench/|title=Goodwin Liu Takes the Bench on California Supreme Court|work=ABC News|date=2011-09-06|access-date=2011-09-06}}</ref>

While the other justices employ five permanent staff as law clerks, Justice Liu has returned to the traditional use of recent law school graduates as one-year clerks.<ref name="LiuUCLA">{{cite journal|last1=Justice Goodwin Liu|title=How the California Supreme Court Actually Works|journal=UCLA Law Review|date=2014|volume=61|page=1246|url=http://www.uclalawreview.org/pdf/61-5-2.pdf|access-date=10 June 2016|archive-date=5 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005114553/http://www.uclalawreview.org/pdf/61-5-2.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{as of|2022|11|11|df=US}}, following the 2022 election, he was retained by California voters to continue to serve as an associate justice with 69.2% of an affirmative vote.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 11, 2022 |title=State Supreme Court - Statewide Results |url=https://electionresults.sos.ca.gov/returns/supreme-court |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112190120/https://electionresults.sos.ca.gov/returns/supreme-court |archive-date=November 12, 2022 |access-date=November 29, 2022 |website=electionresults.sos.ca.gov}}</ref>

====Opinions==== In his first year on the bench, Liu authored six decisions, all of them unanimous.

*''Kirby v. Immoos Fire Protection, Inc.'' *''Dicon Fiberoptics, Inc. v. Franchise Tax Board'' *''United Teachers of Los Angeles v. Los Angeles Unified School Dist.'' *''Coito v. Superior Court'' *''National Paint & Coatings Assn., Inc. v. South Coast Air Quality Management Dist.'' *''Parks v. MBNA American Bank''

He also authored the majority opinion in ''Apple v. Superior Court'', where he ruled that online retailers can continue asking for credit card holder's information, such as telephone numbers and home addresses, when completing a transaction with a credit card. The complaint arose from the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971, which sought to protect consumer privacy when purchasing products in a store. Liu instead ruled for Apple, concluding that "because we cannot make a square peg fit a round hole, we must conclude that online transactions involving electronically downloadable products fall outside the coverage of the statute."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.com/jsp/ca/PubArticleCA.jsp?id=1202586978248|title=4-3 Ruling Backs Online Retailers Who Collect Cardholder Data|publisher=Law.com|date=February 4, 2013|author=Graham, Scott|access-date=February 5, 2013}}</ref>

In 2015, Justice Liu joined in the California Supreme Court's unauthored opinion, ''In re Hong Yen Chang'', which posthumously admitted Chang to the State Bar. Chang was denied admission to the bar by the court in 1890, due to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act. Justice Liu and the rest of the California Supreme Court abrogated the court's previous decision and held that "the discriminatory exclusion of Chang from the State Bar of California was a grievous wrong" that "denied Chang equal protection of the laws".<ref>[http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S223736.PDF ''In re Hong Yen Chang''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150603191226/http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S223736.PDF |date=2015-06-03 }} (2015) 60 Cal.4th 1169.</ref>

==Positions== Liu is socially liberal.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Elias|first1=Thomas D.|title=Column: Brown can put his stamp on California Supreme Court|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2014/07/01/thomas-d-elias-column-brown-can-put-his-stamp-on-california-supreme-court/|access-date=September 22, 2017|work=San Jose Mercury News|date=July 1, 2014}}</ref> He has written in favor of affirmative action, abortion rights, and same-sex marriage and has been critical of Bush-era waterboarding policy and the death penalty. In a 2008 article for the ''Stanford Law Review'', Liu advocated a constitutional right to receive welfare.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Rethinking+constitutional+welfare+rights.-a0194620614 | title=Rethinking constitutional welfare rights. - Free Online Library }}</ref> His positions are predominantly left-leaning; however, Liu has supported charter schools and government-funded vouchers for private schools, particularly if used as a tool to "promote racial diversity."<ref name="SFGate1">{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Obama-nominee-Goodwin-Liu-an-unassuming-man-3270392.php|title=Obama nominee Goodwin Liu an unassuming man|last=Egelko|first=Bob|date=March 14, 2010|work=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=March 24, 2010}}</ref> Justice Liu has defended the California Supreme Court's practice of drafting its opinions before hearing oral arguments, as a gross mischaracterisation of its process.<ref name="LiuUCLA" />

Gerald Uelman, a professor and former dean of the University of Santa Clara School of Law, was impressed with Liu's work, saying "He displays a very independent streak. His opinions are very well thought out and well reasoned." Bob Egelko, a legal affairs reporter for the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', agreed, saying that "his dissents come within the ideological boundaries of [the California Supreme Court], which is an institution that in general moves incrementally."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sacbee.com/2013/09/08/5708024/court-watchers-view-california.html |title=Goodwin Liu isn't the left winger critics painted him to be |newspaper=The Sacramento Bee |date=September 8, 2013 |author=Sward, Susan |access-date=November 27, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202221750/http://www.sacbee.com/2013/09/08/5708024/court-watchers-view-california.html |archive-date=December 2, 2013 }}</ref>

==Publications== Liu's recent work includes "Keeping Faith with the Constitution" (2009) (with Pamela S. Karlan and Christopher H. Schroeder);<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.stanford.edu/publications/details/4216/ |title=Keeping Faith with the Constitution |publisher=Stanford Law School |access-date=2011-05-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613034157/http://www.law.stanford.edu/publications/details/4216/ |archive-date=2011-06-13 }}</ref> "Rethinking Constitutional Welfare Rights" in ''Stanford Law Review'' (2008);<ref>Goodwin Liu, [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3435/is_200811/ai_n32305705/ Rethinking Constitutional Welfare Rights], ''Stanford Law Review'' (November 2008).</ref> "History Will Be Heard: An Appraisal of the Seattle/Louisville Decision" in ''Harvard Law & Policy Review'' (2008);<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hlpronline.com/2009/12/history-will-be-heard-an-appraisal-of-the-seattlelouisville-decision/ |title= Harvard Law and Policy Review|website=hlpronline.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301184843/http://hlpronline.com/2009/12/history-will-be-heard-an-appraisal-of-the-seattlelouisville-decision/ |archive-date=March 1, 2012}}</ref> "Improving Title I Funding Equity Across States, Districts, and Schools," in ''Iowa Law Review'' (2008);<ref>Goodwin Liu, [http://www.law.uiowa.edu/documents/ilr/Liu.pdf Improving Title I Funding Equity Across States, Districts, and Schools] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720082222/http://www.law.uiowa.edu/documents/ilr/Liu.pdf |date=2008-07-20 }}, ''Iowa Law Review'' (2008).</ref> "Seattle and Louisville" in ''California Law Review'' (2007);<ref>Goodwin Liu, [https://litigation-essentials.lexisnexis.com/webcd/app?action=DocumentDisplay&crawlid=1&doctype=cite&docid=95+Calif.+L.+Rev.+277&srctype=smi&srcid=3B15&key=923dcf56cd6bf48282cb6c508571a632 Seattle and Louisville], ''California Law Review'' (February 2007).</ref> "Education, Equality, and National Citizenship" in ''Yale Law Journal'' (2006);<ref>Goodwin Liu, [http://www.yalelawjournal.org/116/2/330_goodwin_liu.html Education, Equality, and National Citizenship], ''Yale Law Journal'' (November 5, 2006).</ref> and "Interstate Inequality in Educational Opportunity" in ''New York University Law Review'' (2006).<ref>Goodwin Liu, [http://www.law.berkeley.edu/centers/ewi-old/research/k12equity/Liu.html "Interstate Inequality in Educational Opportunity"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310055444/http://www.law.berkeley.edu/centers/ewi-old/research/k12equity/Liu.html |date=2011-03-10 }}</ref>

==Awards and memberships== In 2007, Liu's work won the Education Law Association's Steven S. Goldberg Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Education Law.<ref>[http://www.law.berkeley.edu/4542.htm "UC Berkeley School of Law Assistant Professor Goodwin Liu Wins Steven S. Goldberg Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Education Law"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091011105126/http://www.law.berkeley.edu/4542.htm |date=2009-10-11 }}, (October 23, 2007).</ref> In 2009, Liu won the UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://teaching.berkeley.edu/dta09/liu.html |title=Distinguished Teaching Awards 2009 | Goodwin Liu |publisher=Teaching.berkeley.edu |date=2009-03-20 |access-date=2011-05-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716051838/http://teaching.berkeley.edu/dta09/liu.html |archive-date=2011-07-16 }}</ref> In 2020 he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amphilsoc.org/blog/american-philosophical-society-welcomes-new-members-2020|title=The American Philosophical Society Welcomes New Members for 2020|website=American Philosophical Society|access-date=Feb 24, 2021}}</ref>

==Personal life== Liu was married to Ann M. O'Leary, who was a senior policy adviser to the Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/121535/ann-oleary-puts-paid-leave-hillary-clintons-agenda|title=Ann O'Leary Puts Paid Leave On Hillary Clinton's Agenda|last1=Sandler|first1=Lauren|access-date=15 April 2015|publisher=New Republic}}</ref> Liu and O'Leary had two children before announcing their separation in 2016. Liu had been rumored to be in a relationship with former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim, who was once his law student.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Goodwin-Liu-now-dating-Jane-Kim-splitting-from-9193794.php|title=Clinton adviser, state justice in marital split - enter Jane Kim|last=Matier & Ross|date=Aug 31, 2016|website=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=Feb 24, 2021}}</ref> Liu's father, Wenpen Liu, a medical doctor, is active in Taiwanese politics and the Taiwan independence movement, and is a main organizer in the Democratic Progressive Party overseas and head of the Sacramento office of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120310082128/http://newamericamedia.org/2012/01/overseas-voters-key-to-taiwanese-presidential-election.php "Overseas Voters Key to Taiwanese Presidential Election"]}}</ref><ref>[http://pacific-times.com/Default.aspx?RC=2&nid=eae59fc1-52b9-4f67-be74-2d820972eb53 台美人支援劉弘威被提名加州大法官], Pacific Times, 2011-08-24</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20111014161910/http://gov.ca.gov/video.php?id=31 GOVERNOR BROWN SWEARS IN HIS NOMINEE, GOODWIN LIU, TO THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA], State of California, 2011-09-1</ref>

== Notes == <references group="lower-alpha" />

==References== {{reflist}}

==Videos== * {{C-SPAN|1010811}}

==External links== {{commons category}} * [https://fedsoc.org/contributors/goodwin-liu Hon. Goodwin H. Liu] at the Federalist Society * [http://www.courts.ca.gov/15450.htm Associate Justice Goodwin Liu] – California Courts * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100325111230/http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Goodwin_Liu Goodwin Liu], Judgepedia * [https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/faculty/facultyProfile.php?facID=4360 Associate Justice Goodwin Liu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808044109/https://www.law.berkeley.edu/php-programs/faculty/facultyProfile.php?facID=4360 |date=2016-08-08 }} on Berkeley Law website * [http://www.courts.ca.gov/12523.htm Past & Present Justices]. California State Courts.

{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Carlos Moreno}} {{s-ttl|title=Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court|years=2011–present}} {{s-inc}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Goodwin}} Category:1970 births Category:20th-century American lawyers Category:21st-century American judges Category:Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Category:American academics of Taiwanese descent Category:American jurists of Taiwanese descent Category:American people of Taiwanese descent Category:American Rhodes Scholars Category:Justices of the Supreme Court of California Category:Jurisprudence academics Category:Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Category:Lawyers from Sacramento, California Category:Living people Category:Members of the American Law Institute Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society Category:People from Augusta, Georgia Category:People from Clewiston, Florida Category:Politicians from Sacramento, California Category:Stanford University alumni Category:Stanford University trustees Category:UC Berkeley School of Law faculty Category:University of California, Berkeley administrators Category:Yale Law School alumni