For immediate release
Committee of 100 Supports Confirmation of Goodwin H. Liu to the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
(New York, NY—May 26, 2010)–The Committee of 100 (C100) supports the confirmation of Goodwin H. Liu for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. President Barack Obama has nominated Professor Liu, and he is presently awaiting confirmation by the United States Senate.
Consistent with its mission of advancing the participation of Chinese Americans in all aspects of public life in the United States, C100 supports federal judicial nominations of Chinese Americans when the American Bar Association (ABA) gives the nominee its highest rating. C100 is impressed that the ABA has given Professor Liu such a rating, indicated by a unanimous vote of well-qualified. The ABA is a nonpartisan organization, and conducts its comprehensive review without regard to political affiliation. Presidents since Dwight D. Eisenhower have relied on the ABA’s evaluations in determining an individual’s fitness for nomination.
C100 Chairman John Chen comments: “C100 urges the Senate to confirm Professor Goodwin Liu. His ascension to the bench would signal that talented people of all backgrounds are integral to our justice system.”
We call on the Senate to confirm Professor Liu. If confirmed, Professor Liu would be only the second active Asian Pacific American federal appellate court Judge and the only one presiding over appeals covering California, Hawaii, and other Western states with high Asian Pacific American populations. Professor Liu also would be only the third Chinese American federal appellate court judge in the history of our democracy.
Professor Liu’s upbringing is the realization of the American Dream. Professor Liu was born in Augusta, Georgia, to Taiwanese immigrants who came to the United States in the late 1960’s when foreign doctors were being recruited to work in underserved areas. Living in Georgia and then Florida, Professor Liu did not learn to speak English until kindergarten because his parents worried that Liu and his brother would acquire an accent if they were taught at home. The family then moved to Sacramento in 1977, where he would eventually graduate as valedictorian of his public high school before attending Stanford University and studying at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship.
Professor Liu is eminently qualified to serve as a federal appellate court judge. Professor Liu is a distinguished graduate of Yale Law School and a former law clerk to Judge David S. Tatel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court. He was a Senior Program Officer for Higher Education at the Corporation for National Service in Washington, D.C., where he helped launch the AmeriCorps program. He also served as a Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary at the US. Department of Education, where he advised the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on a wide range of legal and policy issues. Professor Liu also has private sector experience as a former member of the litigation practice of O’Melveny & Myers in Washington D.C. He is the Associate Dean and Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law, and is a renowned expert on educational and constitutional law.
The Committee of 100 is a national non-profit, non-partisan, membership organization that addresses issues concerning Sino-U.S. relations and affecting the Chinese American community. The Committee draws upon the collective experience, knowledge, and resources our members-Chinese Americans who have achieved prominence in a variety of fields- to work in partnership towards a dual mission:1. Promoting a constructive relationship between the peoples of Greater China and the United States 2. Promoting the full participation of Chinese Americans in all aspects of American life.
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Contact: Ms. Ping An, Public Relations Director
212-371-6565 ping_an@committee100.org
百人會支持劉弘威教授獲聯邦第九巡迴 上訴法庭法官提名
(2010 年 5 月 26 日—紐約)–美國華人精英組織百人會支持劉弘威成為美國聯 邦法院第九巡迴上訴法庭全職法官。他由奧巴馬總統任命，目前這一任命案等 候美國參議院的最終批準。
百人會支持美國律師協會給予高度肯定的美國華裔成為聯邦法院法官，這符合 百人會促進美國華裔全面融入美國社會的宗旨。百人會很高興地看到，美國律 師協會給予劉弘威高度的評價和全票通過，表明劉弘威是完全合格的。美國律 師協會是非黨派組織，在進行律師資格評審時不考慮黨派問題。自艾森豪威爾 總統以來，美國總統始終依據美國律師協會的評價選擇法官的任命人。
百人會會長程守宗說：“百人會希望促動參議院確認劉弘威教授的任命，他的 任命將顯示，來自各個背景的合格的人才都可以在我們司法系統中任職”。
百人會呼吁參議院確認劉弘威教授的任命。如果確認的話，劉弘威教授將成為 美國上訴法院的第二位亞裔法官，并成為唯一一位主持加利福尼亞、夏威夷及 其他西部地區上訴的法官，這些地區有著大量的亞裔人口。劉弘威教授也將成 為美國民主歷史上第三位亞裔法官。
劉弘威的經歷標志著美國夢的實現。他出生於佐治亞州奧古斯塔市，父母於六 十年代末移民美國，那時外國醫生不受重用。劉弘威在佐治亞州和佛羅里達州 度過幼兒時代，由于他父母怕劉弘威學英語帶口音，他在去幼兒園前未學說英 語。1977 年，他們一家搬到加州萨克拉門托市，劉弘威就讀於公立中學，在畢 業典禮上，他代表畢業生致告別辭。劉教授畢業于美國斯坦福大學，並獲羅式 獎學金就讀於于牛津大學。
劉弘威完全有資格擔任上訴法庭法官一職。他以優異成績畢業於耶魯大學法學 院，擔任過哥倫比亞大區上訴法庭法官 David T. Tatel 和聯邦最高法院大法 Ruth Bader Ginsburg 的司法員。他在華盛頓 Corporation for National Service 擔任主管高等教育部的項目主管。他還擔任過教育部副部長的特別助 理，負責向部長和副部長就法律和政策提供建議。劉弘威也具備私營部門的經 驗，他在 O’Melveny & Myers 律師事務所華盛頓分所擔任過訴訟律師。他曾擔 任過加州大學伯克萊法學院教授兼副院長，是憲法研究方面的權威。
百人會是美國無黨派、非政治、非牟利的全國組織。它由一批在各個領域做出 傑出貢獻的美籍華人組成。百人會聚集了他們的優勢、經驗及資源爲實現百人 會的雙重使命而努力，即推動美中兩國之間富有建設性的關係, 全面推動美國 華裔參與美國社會。
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聯系人： 安平女士
212-371-6565 ping_an@committee100.org
