Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. UC Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu, once touted as possibly the first Asian-American Supreme Court justice, won’t even make it onto the appellate court. The Associated Press reports that US Senate Democrats, with approval from the White House, have quietly agreed to kill Liu’s nomination to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in exchange for Republicans approving some of President Obama’s less controversial judicial nominees. Liu, a liberal, came under fire from conservatives in part because he once strongly criticized right-wing Justice Sam Alito. Liu has since shown contrition for his remarks, but Republicans decided to block Obama’s other nominations as long as Democrats kept pushing Liu and three other liberals for judgeships.
