The First Asian-American Supreme Court Justice?

Who is Goodwin Liu? The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Liu went from struggling to learn English as a kindergartner to becoming a Rhodes Scholar and Associate Dean and Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law.

He also stands a chance of becoming the first Asian-American to serve on the United States Supreme Court.

President Obama recently nominated Liu to serve as a federal appeals court judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. While the Ninth Court is still a step or two away from the highest court in the land, many commentators see Liu's nomination as a canny chess move by the president, who observers say aims to seat Liu in the long term.

Of course, Liu is also considered a liberal on many hot-button issues (including health care reform, gay marriage and slavery reparation). And predictably, conservatives have thrown up roadblocks to Liu's nomination. But advocacy groups like the Asian American Justice Center are rallying behind Liu — and his nomination, despite some speed bumps, has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee.

How big of a deal is that President Obama has tapped an Asian-American for the Ninth Circuit? Well, consider the fact that, prior to the recent confirmation of Judge Denny Chin to the Second Circuit, there were exactly ZERO Asian-Americans on the federal appellate court. (That's out of 175 active federal appellate judges.)

In fact, only five Asian Pacific Americans have EVER served as federal appellate court judges. That includes the Ninth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over states with large Asian populations such as California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. Out of approximately 875 federal judgeships, only 10 are currently filled by Asian Pacific Americans.

Some commentators have called Barack Obama the first "Asian-American president." This is, of course, a riff on Toni Morrison's famous quip about Bill Clinton being the country's "first black president," which she made exactly 10 years before Obama achieved that status in earnest. And in fact, Professor Liu is the second Asian Pacific American Obama has nominated to the federal appellate court.

Obama has nominated nine Asian Pacific Americans to the federal bench, which surpasses the total number of active Asian Pacific Americans serving in that capacity prior to his presidency. In addition, President Obama has appointed more Asian-Americans to his cabinet than any other president.

Of course, when Morrison called Clinton the "first black president," she said it with a dose of doubt and cynicism. Clinton, the Nobel Prize-winning author wrote, was "blacker than any actual black person who could ever be elected in our children's lifetime." Labeling Obama the first Asian-American president also implies that, at least for the moment, we won't see an actual Asian-American elected to the highest office in the land in our lifetime.

It's impossible to tell if there's an Asian-American equivalent to Barack Obama somewhere out there in today's divisive political arena. On the other hand, if Goodwin Liu is successfully seated, he has a good chance of breaking a different barrier.

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the law school at UC Irvine, says he could "easily imagine [Liu] as a high court nominee." At 39, Liu would likely have a long and lasting impact on the Ninth Circuit. His achievements as an appellate judge could lay the groundwork for future administrations to appoint him to the Supreme Court.

In the 1990s, Republicans hemmed and hawed over one of President Clinton's federal appeals court nominees because they sensed that she was being groomed to be the Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice. It turns out they were right: That nominee was Sonia Sotomayor.

Some conservatives see the writing on the wall, and have been stonewalling Liu's nomination. "He's by far the most controversial nominee that Obama has named," says Curt Levey, executive director of the conservative Committee for Justice, "and he's clearly being groomed for the Supreme Court, so there's every reason to give him a full dose of scrutiny."

Or, as the Asian American Justice Center puts it: "Liu's confirmation to an appeals court would be a monumental step in building a foundation for Asian Pacific Americans to strive and serve on all levels of the judicial system." That's why bloggers and Asian-American advocacy groups are lining up behind Liu to make sure the Senate confirms him.

Photo Credit: Ingrid Taylar