Goodwin Liu, a law professor at Berkeley and President Obama's erstwhile nominee for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, has now been tapped for the California Supreme Court.

In May, Mr. Liu withdrew his nomination to the federal bench when it was clear he couldn't collect enough votes to get confirmed. Republicans objected to Mr. Liu's view of the Constitution as a malleable document and his suggestion that phrases such as "free enterprise," "private ownership of property" and "limited government" were "code words" for an anti-progressive agenda. During U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's confirmation hearings, Mr. Liu wrote that "Judge Alito's record envisions an America where police may shoot and kill an unarmed boy to stop him from running away with a stolen purse."

California law professor Goodwin Liu during a hearing last year for his federal nomination. Associated Press

Announcing the nomination, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said that Mr. Liu had the "background, intellect and vision to really help our California Supreme Court be again one of the great courts in the country." We wonder which era Mr. Brown considers the court's glory days. During his previous stints as governor, between 1975 and 1983, Mr. Brown's track record on judicial appointments was notoriously problematic. Former California Chief Justice Rose Bird was removed from office after her 1986 retention election in a wave of anger against her history of liberal rulings. The same fate befell two other Brown appointees, Justices Cruz Reynoso and Joseph Grodin.

Such rejection is unusual for judicial retention elections, which are typically an easy win for the incumbent. Removing multiple judges from the bench, as Iowa recently did over votes on a gay marriage law, comes only in extreme cases of voter displeasure.

Mr. Liu's elevation to the California bench is a consolation prize to the left-leaning groups that supported his nomination to the Ninth Circuit. Getting him onto a prestigious state Supreme Court revives the possibility that he could yet be considered some day for the U.S. Supreme Court.
