judge and I believe the rethugs are or were fighting the nom.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwin_Liusnip//
Liu has been nominated by President Obama to be an appellate judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. His nomination has earned support from former Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr <4> and former Associate White House Counsel to President George W. Bush Richard Painter<5> on the right to former Acting Solicitor General to President Bill Clinton Walter Dellinger<6> and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)<7> on the left. However, the nomination has been harshly criticized by M. Edward Whelan III on National Review Online.<8> Whelan alleges that Liu has been a strong proponent of judicial activism in his legal writings, a claim strongly rejected by constitutional law scholar Jesse Choper.<9> Whelan is the head of the right-wing Ethics and Public Policy Center. Liu has also been criticized by Senate Republicans for allegedly failing to disclose 117 of his more controversial writings and speeches.<10><11> On April 6, 2010 Liu submitted the 117 requested items to the committee as a supplemental to the original questionaire.<12> The committee hearing had been postponed twice particularly due to Republican concerns over Liu's judicial qualifications and record.<13> On April 6, 2010 a letter was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy by the seven committee Republicans to request a third posponement, which was subsequently rejected.<14>
Prior to his nomination, Liu had not served as a judge and had argued only one case at the appellate court level as a lawyer.<15><16>. However, this is neither atypical nor an indicator of his likelihood for further promotion, if confirmed. Each of the current Supreme Court Justices – with the exception of Justice Sotomayor – lacked state or federal judicial experience prior to his or her appointment to a federal appellate court.<17>