News and photos: http://gov.ca.gov/, http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=17191
Goodwin Liu Confirmed to California Supreme Court, sworn in
Contact: Susan Gluss, 510.642.6936, sgluss@law.berkeley.edu
Berkeley, CA-August 31, 2011... UC Berkeley School of Law professor Goodwin Liu
won confirmation Wednesday as the newest Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
of California. The unanimous vote by the three-member Commission on Judicial
Appointments came after Liu’s supporters spoke on his behalf at a public
hearing in San Francisco—there was no opposing testimony. Friends, family, and
colleagues in the audience broke out into spontaneous applause after the vote.
The confirmation hearing was followed on Thursday by a swearing-in ceremony
with Governor Jerry Brown in Sacramento. Attorney General Kamala Harris,
lawmakers, friends, and family attended the ceremony, which took place in the
Rotunda of the State Capitol building.
At the swearing-in ceremony, Liu recalled boyhood visits to the Capitol
during Brown's first term as governor from 1975 to 1983.
"I stood in this rotunda many times, perhaps even on days, Governor,
when you were hard at work just a few paces away," Liu said. "But I
never imagined that our paths would cross quite like this."
Brown nominated Liu in July to fill the seat vacated by former Justice
Carlos Moreno. Professor Liu had been nominated by President Obama to serve on
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit more than one year ago, but
Senate Republicans blocked a cloture vote on his nomination. Liu withdrew his
name from consideration this past May.
The 10 witnesses who testified on Liu’s behalf included Berkeley Law Dean
Christopher Edley, who had promoted Liu to associate dean shortly after he
earned tenure. Edley praised Liu for his “patience, clarity, organization,
humor, a balanced temperament, and good listening skills.” Edley said “there
was no one on the faculty more widely respected or more genuinely admired for
his fairness, collegiality, and good judgment.”
Goodwin earned the highest rating of “exceptionally well-qualified” by the
state bar's Commission on Judicial Nominations Evaluation. He also received
more than one thousand supporting letters from various legal associations,
members of Congress, and law professors nationwide.
Professor David Sklansky, a colleague of Liu’s at Berkeley Law, testified
that “without exception,” Liu is “someone who is deeply principled” and “who
builds consensus in the very best way: not by splitting the difference between
right and wrong, but by leadership, intelligence, and demonstrable, unerring
fairness.” Sklansky said he was impressed with Liu’s “powerful intellect but
also with his character: his decency, his open-mindedness, and his
evenhandedness.”
Former president of the California State Bar, Holly Fujie ’78, said she
reviewed professor Liu’s articles and speeches and found “a brilliant man who
rationally and even-handedly analyzed all legal issues presented to him, and
who had a deep respect for the rule of law and the Constitution.”
One of Liu’s former students, Benita Brahmbhatt ‘10, who recently clerked
for Judge Diane Wood on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, said professor Liu
had a “profound impact” on her development and added that it was his “skill as
an instructor combined with his passion for justice” that inspired his
students.
The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Liu grew up in Sacramento and attended
public schools until he went to college at Stanford University. After
graduating with honors, he won a Rhodes Scholarship and earned a masters degree
at Oxford. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1998 and joined the California
bar in 1999, making him the first person in his family to become a lawyer.
Liu’s background has served as a model to aspiring Asian American
professionals. President of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater
Bay Area Malcolm Yeung ’01 called Liu a “living articulation of the aspirations
of our members.” He praised Liu’s “rigorous and courageous intellectual
contributions in the area of educational equity,” and his “legal mind of
unsurpassed quality.”
The judicial commission, composed of Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye;
Attorney General Kamala Harris; and Joan Dempsey-Klein, California's senior
appeals court justice, concluded the hearing with a vote to confirm.
Liu said he was “honored” and also “deeply humbled” by the opportunity to
serve the people of California, and he thanked his family for their unwavering
support.
Liu will assume his seat on the Court in time to hear oral arguments in the
Prop 8 same-sex marriage case early next week.
Liu’s appointment follows the great tradition of UC Berkeley Law School
faculty and alums that have been chosen to serve on the state’s highest court.
Previous appointments include Ira Thompson 1909, Chief Justice Roger Traynor
’27, Mathew Tobriner '32, Frank Newman ’41, Alan Broussard '53, Cruz Reynoso
’58, Chief Justice Rose Bird ’65, and Kathryn Werdegar.
Liu was accompanied at the hearing by his wife, Ann O’Leary ‘05, and their
two children, Violet and Emmett O’Leary-Liu.
The Thursday swearing-in ceremony was broadcast live on www.calchannel.com.
8/31/2011
[轉載自:世界新聞網]
記者李秀蘭舊金山報導 世界新聞網
September 01, 2011
劉弘威(前左一)8月31日通過加州最高法院法官任命案，在提名確認聽證會上與母親歡喜擁抱。(美聯社)
加州司法任命委員會8月31日一致通過柏克萊加州大學法學院教授劉弘威出任加州最高法院法官。過去兩年經歷共和黨反對其聯邦法官提名案的劉弘威在任命聽證會上說：「這是我經歷最愉快的一次任命聽證。」
劉弘威將於9月1日中午在加州州長布朗監誓下，正式宣誓就上任，他將成為加州史上第二位華裔最高法院大法官。第一位華裔大法官陳惠明將與他一起審理加州的上訴案，劉弘威也將成為現任七位大法官中，唯一的民主黨籍。
劉弘威在聽證中強調他的台灣移民第二代的背景，對他擔任法官的重要性。劉弘威說，法官需要來自不同的背景，加州最高法院審理的每一個上訴案，是由七名大法官聯合裁決，不是取決於一人，法官的背景對最後裁決結果有重要影響。
劉弘威曾獲總統歐巴馬兩度提名為第九巡迴上訴法庭法官，但因受國會共和黨反對，他的提名案多次無法在參院通過，今年中劉弘威自動要求歐巴馬總統撤回聯邦法官提名。
加州州長布朗認為退出聯邦法官提名的劉弘威是加州最高法院大法官的理想人選，在7月26日宣布提名劉弘威接替今年2月退休的西裔大法官莫維諾 (Carlos Moreno)。
雖然有共和黨人及保守派人士致函加州司法任命委員會反對劉弘威的提名案，但沒有反對者出席8月31日舉行的提名確認聽證會。另一方面，來自各方的支持者則爭取在聽證會上發言，呼籲通過這項提名案。
劉弘威在白人妻子安．歐萊瑞(Ann O'Leary)、一對年幼子女及雙親的陪同下，出席提名聽證。劉弘威在會上幽默地說，聽見大家都說了很多讚美的話，心存感激，這也是他親身參與感覺最好的一次法官提名確認聽證。
今年40歲的劉弘威，在沙加緬度長大，來自台灣的父親劉文彬是醫師。劉弘威在沙加緬完度公立學校受教育，先後畢業於史丹福大學、英國牛津大學和耶魯大學法學院。2003年擔任柏克萊加大法學院教授至今。
FAPA會長劉文彬兒子被提名加州大法官
台灣海外網記者特別報道（2011年8月19日）：
加州首府沙加緬度的台灣人團體FAPA的上任會長劉文彬、蔡洋清夫婦，一向堅定地為爭取台灣成為正常化獨立國家而奮力貢獻，在台灣人中口碑甚佳。他們的二兒子劉弘威（Goodwin H. Liu）去年被美國總統歐巴瑪提名為聯邦第九上訴法庭的大法官，因為共和黨在國會杯葛阻止，最後功虧一簣。日前加州州長布朗決定提名劉弘威為加州最高法院大法官。如獲通過，這不僅是劉文彬、蔡洋清這對台灣人醫師夫婦的光榮，更是為台灣人爭光。這將是台灣人第二代，在美國司法界獲得的重要職務。
劉弘威畢業於史丹福大學，後到英國劍橋、耶魯法學院等深造，曾擔任美國最高法院女大法官露絲‧金斯柏（Ruth Bader Ginsburg）的助理。劉弘威被同行視為前途無量，今年只有40歲，就已出任伯克萊大學法學院副院長、教授，美國憲法學會理事長。
很多台灣鄉親聽到這個消息都相當高興！加沙緬度的FAPA成員、常在網絡撰寫文章、深愛台灣的Bill Huang先生，在網絡呼籲台灣鄉親力挺劉弘威。另外還有Vincent Eng先生在網絡上用英文信呼籲台灣鄉親支持劉弘威，為台灣人爭光！
加沙緬甸的大報《Sacramento Bee》在去年的報導中就說，「如果最後劉弘威的提名在國會無法通過的話，他還有一個可能，那就是出任座落在舊金山、距離聯邦「第九上訴巡迴法庭」只有幾條街的「加州最高法院」的大法官，因為該院的大法官莫瑞諾（Carlos Moreno）正要退休，州長布朗正在尋找接替人選。」
這家沙加緬度最大的英文報紙早在1987年、也就是劉弘威才16歲時，就報導過他。那時劉弘威剛中學畢業，被當時的加州州長杜克麥津（George Deukmejian）挑選，代表該州參加在勞倫斯伯克萊實驗室舉行的「特殊科學項目」比賽。當時《Sacramento Bee》就在報導中預測：劉弘威這個孩子具有「倔強的，智慧的，無限的」潛力。看來這個「蜜蜂」（Bee）真會採蜜，一語「咬」中。
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