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Hopefuls Eye 9th Circuit Vacancies
The Recorder
March 18, 2009
The speculation over who will fill California vacancies on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals shifted into a higher gear Tuesday, after the Obama administration made its first appellate pick.
The president selected Judge David Hamilton from Indiana's Southern District -- said to be a well-liked moderate -- for a seat on the 7th Circuit in Chicago. In California, three Northern District judges are seen as contenders for the 9th Circuit. But the district court bench is hardly the only Northern California constituency eyeing a spot on the bench.
From academia, one likely aspirant is Goodwin Liu, an associate dean at the University of California-Berkeley School of Law and a Stanford University trustee. A former clerk for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Liu came to Boalt Hall in 2003 and is co-director of the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity. He also worked on President Obama's transition team for the Department of Education, and is a relatively young 38 years old.
"There are many talented people who are qualified to serve on the 9th Circuit," Liu said Tuesday, "and frankly I'm honored that some people would consider me in that group."
Another name being bandied about is Jon Streeter, a Keker & Van Nest partner. Neither Streeter nor Liu would comment on whether they've had any discussions with the White House.
"I'm flattered people would even consider me in the mix along with some of the other names I've heard," Streeter said. "Just being mentioned is a huge honor."
Streeter got his start out of law school as an extern to Northern District of California Senior Judge Thelton Henderson. A commercial litigator, he came to Keker in 1997 after 15 years at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
The 9th Circuit currently has two vacancies. One seat was transplanted from the D.C. Circuit in January, and is seen as an undisputed California slot. The other has been caught in a years-long tiff between senators from California and Idaho, both of which claim it.
Among other factors, candidates like Liu and Streeter would add to the diversity quotient on the federal bench. According to the San Francisco Bay Area's Asian American Bar Association, there are no Asian-Americans among active appeals court judges nationwide. The last on the 9th Circuit was Judge Wallace Tashima, who is now on senior status. Judge Johnnie Rawlinson is the only full-time African-American jurist on the 9th Circuit.
Should Obama's Hamilton pick signify a trend toward district court elevations, it would aid Judges Jeremy Fogel and Claudia Wilken, who both said they would be "honored" to serve if asked. Fogel is also a possibility for the Federal Circuit. Judge Susan Illston has long been said to be interested; she didn't return a call for comment.
Judge William Alsup said he is not applying for a circuit slot.
Currently nine 9th Circuit judges sit in Southern California, while three are San Francisco-based, with one in Sacramento. This disparity has led to the belief that the next California seat would go to someone in the Bay Area.
However, that's not a given. Many eyes in the Central District are focused on Judge Dean Pregerson, whose father, Harry, has been on the 9th Circuit for nearly 30 years. Dean Pregerson was out of the country Tuesday and could not be reached.
A Pregerson nomination may prompt Republicans to invoke a so-called "Fletcher precedent," wherein Judge Betty Fletcher was forced to take senior status in order for President Clinton to get Fletcher's son William onto the bench. However, when asked about his plans last December, the elder Pregerson said he would be staying on the court "for the duration."
