Press Release of U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer

Boxer Statement on Republican Filibuster of Goodwin Liu's Nomination to U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals  

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) issued the following statement today after Senate Republicans filibustered U.C. Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu’s nomination to serve on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, denying him an up-or-down vote:  

“It is an outrage that Senate Republicans have blocked the nomination of Goodwin Liu, an exceptionally well-qualified and mainstream judicial nominee who is widely admired, even by leading conservative legal scholars. 

“Professor Liu represents the best of America – a Rhodes Scholar who helped launch AmeriCorps and rose to become one of the nation’s most distinguished constitutional law experts. It is a sad day for our country when we reject a brilliant young legal scholar who would have been the only Asian-American serving on the Ninth Circuit, which is home to more than 40 percent of our nation’s Asian American population. 

“I believe the ramifications of this Republican filibuster will be deeply felt in California and across the country. When we deny a judicial nominee of Professor Liu’s caliber – a man of intelligence, integrity and dignity – we weaken our nation’s legal system.”