Speculation has been mounting about the possibility of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s departure
Speculation has been mounting about the possibility of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s departure from the High Court. Justice Ginsburg has been beating back rumors for years that her recent string of health complications, which have included colon and pancreatic cancer, would compromise her tenure. Yet, the 81 year-old continues to be a liberal trail blazer, showing her critics on the right and left that she is capable as ever of being an effective counterweight to a heavy-handed conservative Court.
While I doubt Justice Ginsburg has any sincere plans to leave anytime soon, we should still be considering what we want the future of the Court to look like. The 2016 election is going to riddled with all the old suspects: immigration, taxes, and gun control. Yet, with the old age of several other justices including Antonin Scalia (78) and Anthony Kennedy (78) it’s very possible that the next president may get to choose one maybe even two replacements in their first term alone. Traditionally, we don’t like to politicize the Court, but the ideological makeup of this important judicial body will inevitably become a campaign issue. This leads me to an indisputably important point; it’s time we had an Asian-Pacific American on the Supreme Court.
In recent years, the most high-profile Asian-Pacific American nominee has been Berkeley Law Professor Goodwin Liu who was put up for a vacant seat on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2010. Liu is a distinguished educator, lawyer, and legal scholar whose work on liberal-leaning issues made him a rising star on the left. There was even talk that the young Taiwanese-American was being bred for a potential nomination to the High Court.
Liu quickly drew the ire of conservatives because he represented a departure from the painful political subtlety of Obama’s other nominees; he has been unabashedly outspoken on issues of race, criminal law reform, and even current justices on the court like Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. Conservatives came out full force and effectively blocked his nomination. Many Asian-Pacific Americans, including myself were disappointed to watch his nomination languish in the Senate as Republicans fought tooth and nail to obstruct his confirmation. Even more disheartening was the fact that the President did little to advocate for him, which eventually led to Liu withdrawing his nomination and moving to a judgeship on the California Supreme Court.
Having an Asian-Pacific American on the Supreme Court is important for many reasons, but ultimately, we need more diverse voices circulating within this historically insular judicial body. Diversity spurs more deliberative decision-making, which is important when the Court considers controversial issues like immigration and affirmative action. Imagine what it would have been like for the Court to have an Asian-Pacific American Justice when it was deliberating issues like Japanese Internment or the Chinese Exclusion Act. Imagine how this could have fundamentally changed the Court’s approach on issues of race and law.
The media rarely gives lip service to the concerns of Asian-Pacific American voters, and we often don’t see political parties jockeying for their support. One of the reasons why Asian-Pacific American voters aren’t discussed in the same way as other demographics is because the media has a hard time identifying what we care about. The media’s careless reduction of the complexity of minority voters is partly responsible. Our community has to push back against the notion that immigration is just a Latino issue or that police violence is just a black issue. Asian-Pacific Americans, like other voters, are affected by a wide range of issues that we care deeply about.
This president, or the next, needs to carefully consider this point. Bringing diversity to the Court will inspire more Asian-Pacific Americans to become involved in politics. A concerning study from the Pew Research Center revealed just how bleak Asian voter participation is. In 2010 for instance, Asian voter turnout was a meager 31 percent. There is immense potential for Democrats to seize a larger share of this growing demographic, which is important considering that the 2014 election showed that Republicans were capable to attracting Asian-Pacific candidates and voters.
Pushing forward nominees like Sonia Sotomayor and Darrin Gayles, President Obama has used his appointment power to make shrewd political appeals to women, Latinos, and LGBT voters. In particular, the nomination of Justice Sotomayor epitomized how the identity politics of nominations can be used by political parties to buoy support from key demographics like Latinos. Asian-Pacific Americans can be worked into this same political calculus if lawmakers are smart enough to recognize the political potential of this community.
A nomination to the Supreme Court would represent just how far Asian-Pacific Americans have come and would finally cement the idea that our communities are seen. Making government “look more like America” has been a goal of this President and should be a goal of his successor, which is why we need to bring greater diversity to the Court.
That being said, race is not everything. We need to support nominees and candidates who are also in line with the progressive values of our community. Korean-American Yale law professor Harold Koh has been floated multiple times as a name on Obama’s judicial shortlist. Koh is a distinguished professor who has experience working as an adviser to the State Department. Unfortunately, Koh holds questionable positions on issue slike targeted killings, which has rattled the confidence of many progressive-minded Asian-Pacific Americans. Also, at 60, the Yale professor with no judicial experience may not be all that attractive to a Democratic President seeking a young and highly-qualified nominee.
If a vacancy on the Supreme Court happens, the president should consider filling his roster with solid candidates like U.S. District Court Judge Edmond Chang or Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu. Justice Yu in particular, represents the direction that progressives should be pushing the Court. The first openly-gay woman on the Washington High Court, Justice Yu is bi-racial (born to Mexican mother and a Chinese father) and is distinguished for her work on racial justice issues. Another potential nominee is Preet Bahara, a New York State Attorney who has been outspoken in his commitment to battling corruption and reigning in Wall Street.
No, having an Asian-Pacific American on the Court is not going to transform America into a post-racial wonderland where the fight for social justice is a thing of the past. However, it will cause many disenfranchised voters to tune in and perhaps even be inspired to participate. We desperately need to have a conversation about race in this country that not only tackles timely and systemic issues like police violence but also engages more communities of color as well.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/judicial/228068-we-need-an-asian-pacific-american-on-the-supreme-court