Stalled Judicial Nominee Backs Out

Goodwin Liu, a Berkeley law professor tapped by the Obama administration for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, is withdrawing his nomination, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Last Thursday the Senate failed to override a Republican filibuster against Liu’s confirmation, securing only 52 votes, 8 less than the 60 needed to move forward. It wasn’t the first time his nomination had been blocked. An attempt to confirm him in the previous 111^th Congress failed as well.

“With no possibility of an up-or-down vote on the horizon, my family and I have decided that it is time for us to regain the ability to make plans for the future,” reportedly said in a letter to the White House.

Senate Republicans have charged that Liu, who was nominated by the White House in early 2010, lacks adequate experience and failed to properly disclose all of the speeches and publications. In addition, there were fears that he would draw the already fairly-liberal Ninth court further to the left.