# Susan Liebeler > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Susan_Liebeler > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Susan_Liebeler.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Liebeler > Source revision: 1343034010 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Susan Wittenberg Liebeler** (born July 3, 1942) is an American lawyer and businesswoman, a former official in the administration of President [Ronald Reagan](/source/Ronald_Reagan), and a former federal judicial nominee to the [United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit](/source/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Federal_Circuit). ## Early life and education Born Susan Levine in [New Castle, Pennsylvania](/source/New_Castle,_Pennsylvania), Liebeler graduated from New Castle High School in New Castle in 1960.[1] She earned a bachelor's degree from the [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan) in 1963 and a law degree from [University of California, Los Angeles School of Law](/source/University_of_California,_Los_Angeles_School_of_Law) in 1966.[2] She served as senior editor of the UCLA Law Review, and was named to the [Order of the Coif](/source/Order_of_the_Coif).[3] ## Professional career Liebeler worked for two different law firms in Los Angeles from 1967 until 1970. She joined Republic Corp. in 1970 as a practicing attorney, leaving Republic in 1971. From 1972 until 1973, Liebeler was general counsel for Verit Industries. From 1973 until 1985, Liebeler was a professor of law at Loyola University in Los Angeles.[2] In 1984, Liebeler was designated by President [Ronald Reagan](/source/Ronald_Reagan) as a commissioner at the [United States International Trade Commission](/source/United_States_International_Trade_Commission). In 1986, Reagan named Liebeler as the commission's chairman serving from 1986 to 1988.[4][2] From 1988 until 1994, Liebeler was a partner with the Los Angeles law firm [Irell & Manella](/source/Irell_%26_Manella) and also worked at [LRN](/source/LRN_(company)) leaving in 1994.[4][3] Since 1995, Liebeler has been president of Lexpert Research Services, a company that she founded.[4][3] ## Failed nomination to the Federal Circuit On March 23, 1987, Reagan nominated Liebeler to be a judge on the [United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit](/source/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Federal_Circuit) to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of [Shiro Kashiwa](/source/Shiro_Kashiwa). Democrats in the Senate opposed Liebeler's nomination because of some decisions she had made while at the International Trade Commission. On February 23, 1988, the Democratic-controlled [U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee](/source/U.S._Senate_Judiciary_Committee) narrowly voted 7-6 not to report Liebeler's nomination favorably out of committee. However, the committee also voted 8–5 to report on her nomination without a recommendation. No vote ever was scheduled on her nomination, however, and her nomination was returned to Reagan on October 22, 1988.[5] President [George H. W. Bush](/source/George_H._W._Bush) declined to renominate Liebeler upon winning the presidency.[6] President George H.W. Bush eventually appointed [S. Jay Plager](/source/S._Jay_Plager) to fill the seat to which Liebeler had been nominated. ## Personal Liebeler's husband, retired UCLA law professor and onetime counsel to the [Warren Commission](/source/Warren_Commission) [Wesley Liebeler](/source/Wesley_Liebeler) (also known as Jim Liebeler), was killed in a plane crash in [Lake Winnipesaukee](/source/Lake_Winnipesaukee) in [Gilford, New Hampshire](/source/Gilford,_New_Hampshire) on September 25, 2002.[7] Liebeler currently lives in [Malibu, California](/source/Malibu,_California). ## See also - [Ronald Reagan judicial appointment controversies](/source/Ronald_Reagan_judicial_appointment_controversies) ## References 1. ["New_Castle_grads"](http://frogpond52.homestead.com/New_Castle_grads.html) 1. ["Designation of Susan W. Liebeler as Chairman of the United States International Trade Commission | the American Presidency Project"](http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=37456) 1. ["Archived copy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070612172536/http://womenslegalhistory.stanford.edu/articles/VermontFirst100.pdf). *womenslegalhistory.stanford.edu*. Archived from [the original](http://womenslegalhistory.stanford.edu/articles/VermontFirst100.pdf) on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2022. 1. Mintz, John (11 December 1995). ["Getting an Expert Opinion at a Bargain Price"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1995/12/11/getting-an-expert-opinion-at-a-bargain-price/6a0026bc-bc7b-4a98-ba81-722704476f4e/). *The Washington Post*. No. Final Edition. The Washington Post. p. F07. Retrieved 6 February 2017. 1. Rutkus, Denis Steven & Sollenberger, Mitchel A. (2003). ["Judicial Nomination Statistics"](https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL31635.pdf). *[United States Senate](/source/United_States_Senate)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170430211045/https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL31635.pdf) 2017-04-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 July 2023. 1. ["Votes Other than Favorably on Judicial Nominations, 1939-2003 : UNT D…"](https://archive.today/20120708202220/http://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/permalink/meta-crs-8195:1). Archived from [the original](http://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/permalink/meta-crs-8195:1) on 8 July 2012. 1. ["The University of Chicago Magazine: August 2003"](http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0308/alumni/deaths.shtml) ## External links - [Lexpert Profile](https://web.archive.org/web/20080706133637/http://www.lexpertresearch.com/founder.html) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Susan Liebeler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Liebeler) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Liebeler?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.