California D.A’s Say ‘No’ to Liu Nomination

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The nomination of UC Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has drawn plenty of reaction from people of varying political stripes. Now California’s district attorneys are jumping into the fray.

In a letter sent to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, 42 of California’s 58 county district attorneys said they oppose the nomination of Liu, largely because of a paper Liu coauthored in 2005 that criticized death penalty decisions made by Samuel Alito, who was then a nominee for the Supreme Court under President George W. Bush, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

According to the letter from prosecutors, Liu’s document “demonstrates beyond serious question that his view on criminal law, capital punishment and the role of the federal courts in second-guessing state decisions are fully aligned” with an appeals court that is “far out of the judicial mainstream.”

  

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Prosecutors believe the analysis indicates Liu would reverse nearly every death penalty decision if allowed on the Ninth Circuit.

Liu was slated for a confirmation hearing last week, but objections from Republicans led the Senate Judiciary Committee to reschedule the hearing for April 16. Liu has widespread support among fellow academics and the American Bar Association has also offered its support.