Liu Calls it Quits in Quest for Judgeship

Goodwin Liu, a polarizing Obama administration judicial candidate, has asked the president to withdraw his nomination from consideration for an appeals court judgeship after his bid was blocked last week in the Senate by a Republican filibuster.

Mr. Liu, in a letter sent Wednesday to President Obama, said that “with no possibility of a up-or-down vote on the horizon, my family and I have decided that it is time for us to regain the ability to make plans for the future.

“In addition, the Judicial Council of the 9th Circuit has noted the ‘desperate need for judges’ to fill current vacancies, and it is now clear that continuing my nomination will not address that need any time soon.”

Republicans said they opposed Mr. Liu’s nomination because they worried the University of California at Berkeley law professor would be an liberal activist judge who would play fast and loose with the Constitution from the bench. They also cited statements he has made suggesting support of affirmative action and gay marriage as individual rights.

Mr. Liu’s lack of judicial experience — he has never served as a trial lawyer or judge — also has been noted.

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