Laura Liu

{{short description|American lawyer and judge (1966–2016)}} {{for|the Chinese physicist|Laura Na Liu}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Laura Cha-Yu Liu | honorific_suffix = | image = | alt = | caption = | office = Judge for the Illinois Appellate Court for the 1st District | term_start = February 3, 2014 | term_end = April 15, 2016 | nominator = | appointer = | predecessor = Patrick Quinn | successor = Mary L. Mikva | office2 = Judge for the Circuit Court of Cook County | term_start2 = 2010 | term_end2 = 2014 | nominator2 = | appointer2 = | predecessor2 = | successor2 = | birth_date = {{birth date|1966|7|19}} | birth_place = Carbondale, Illinois, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2016|4|15|1966|7|19}} | death_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | alma_mater = Youngstown State University (BA)<br>University of Cincinnati (JD) | spouse = {{marriage|Michael J. Kasper<br>|1996|2016}} | children = 1 }} '''Laura Cha-Yu Liu''' (July 19, 1966 – April 15, 2016) was an American circuit court and state appellate court judge. She was the first Chinese American woman judge appointed to the Circuit Court of Cook County and the first Chinese American appointed to the Illinois Appellate Court.<ref name=Death>[http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160416/news/160418963/ Appellate court judges dies after battle with cancer]</ref><ref name=Obit>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160421100302/http://www.obitsforlife.com/obituary/1306955/Liu-Laura.php/ Laura Cha-Yu Liu Obituary]</ref>

==Background== Born in Carbondale, Illinois, to a Vietnamese mother and a Chinese father, both of whom were exchange students, Liu grew up in Austintown, Ohio. She began school speaking very little English and went on to become valedictorian of Austintown Fitch High School.<ref>[http://newsroom.ysu.edu/ysu-alums-hold-court-chicago/ Across the Miles: YSU Alums Hold Court in 'Chicagoland']</ref> In 1987, Liu received her bachelor's degree from Youngstown State University and her J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1991.<ref name=Death /><ref name=Obit/>

==Career== From 1991 to 2010, Liu practiced law in Chicago, primarily at the law firm [http://www.hmbr.com Hogan Marren, Ltd].

In 2010, she was appointed Illinois Circuit Court judge for Cook County, Illinois. When Liu won election to the 8th Judicial Subcircuit of Cook County in 2012, she became the first Chinese American elected to public office in the county.<ref name=CDLB>[https://www.chicagolawbulletin.com/archives/2016/11/03/judge-liu-award-11-3-16/ ''Chicago Daily Law Bulletin'', Liu to receive posthumous award]</ref> That same year, she co-chaired the Illinois Supreme Court's Access to Justice Commission, which worked to bridge language barriers for non-English-speaking litigants. Liu's efforts resulted in the establishment of rules requiring courts to provide qualified interpreters for parties and witnesses, and the installation of signage in different languages outside courthouses. Additionally, her work in the circuit court's Chancery Division made her acutely aware of the challenges faced by self-represented litigants, particularly in mortgage-foreclosure cases: "She recalled the advice she received from another Cook County judge who, like her at the time, overheard mortgage-foreclosure cases: 'This may be the 100th case you’ve heard at the end of the day, but it is this borrower’s first and only case. It's their most important case, and their only case in front of you.'"<ref>[http://www.chicagolawbulletin.com/Articles/2016/04/18/Laura-Liu-4-18-16.aspx/ ''Chicago Daily Law Bulletin'' Justice Laura Liu dies at 49]</ref>

In 2014, Liu was appointed to the Illinois Appellate Court, a position she held until her untimely death.<ref>[https://www.huffpost.com/entry/judge-laura-liu-slated-as_b_4709164/ ''Huffington Post'', Judge Laura Liu Slated as 1st Asian-American Appellate Court Justice]</ref> In 2016, Liu was awarded, posthumously, the Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.<ref name="CDLB" /><ref>[https://www.napaba.org/page/TBpastrecipients/ NAPABA Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazers Award Recipients]</ref> The Illinois Supreme Court appointed Mary L. Mikva to succeed her.<ref>{{cite web|title=SUPREME COURT FILLS VACANCIES ON APPELLATE, CIRCUIT COURTS IN COOK COUNTY|date=June 7, 2016|accessdate=July 3, 2020|url=https://courts.illinois.gov/Media/PressRel/2016/060716.pdf}}</ref>

As the first Asian-American appellate court justice in Illinois, first Chinese-American female judge in Illinois, and first Chinese-American to be elected to public office in Illinois, a life-size bronze sculpture designed by Erik Blome was dedicated to her on April 15, 2017, in Chicago's Ping Tom Memorial Park.<ref>{{cite web|title=Laura Liu Statue in Ping Tom Park|accessdate=June 1, 2021|url=https://wanderwomenproject.com/places/laura-liu-statue-in-ping-tom-park/}}</ref>

==Personal life== Liu married Michael J. Kasper in 2006; together they had a daughter in 2009. Liu was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, but she continued her work until she died in 2016 at the age of 49.<ref name=Obit />

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.judgelauraliu.com/ Liu's 2012 campaign website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Laura}} Category:1966 births Category:2016 deaths Category:American people of Chinese descent Category:People from Carbondale, Illinois Category:People from Austintown, Ohio Category:Lawyers from Chicago Category:Youngstown State University alumni Category:University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni Category:Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County Category:Judges of the Illinois Appellate Court Category:Deaths from breast cancer in Illinois