Protecting Individual Liberties: Recognizing the Value of State and Federal Courts
When U.S. citizens hear “constitutional law,” we tend to think only of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Supreme Court, and the federal court system, effectively ignoring the power of state constitutional law. In 51 Imperfect Solutions, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton argues that American Constitutional Law should account for the role of the state courts and state constitutions, together with the federal courts and the federal constitution, in protecting individual liberties.
In this episode, Justice Goodwin Liu of the California Supreme Court talks to Judge Sutton about the distinct yet parallel importance of the State Court systems and the Federal Court system, including how we came to value so highly the federal system; why we should pay more attention to our state courts and constitutions; and what we as citizens, educators, and advocates should do going forward.
Goodwin Liu
Goodwin Liu is an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court. He was confirmed to office by a unanimous vote of the California Commission on Judicial Appointments on August 31, 2011, following his appointment by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. He was retained by the electorate in 2014. He was previously a professor of law and associate dean at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, before joining the court in 2011.
Before that, he was a litigator in the Washington, DC, office of O’Melveny & Myers and also served in the U.S. Department of Education and the Corporation for National Service. Justice Liu is a prolific and influential scholar on constitutional law and education policy. His 2006 article, “Education, Equality, and National Citizenship,” won the Steven S. Goldberg Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Education Law, conferred by the Education Law Association. Justice Liu is also a popular and acclaimed teacher. In 2009, he received UC Berkeley’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the university’s most prestigious honor for individual excellence in teaching. The Boalt Hall Class of 2009 selected him as the faculty commencement speaker. Justice Liu serves on the California Access to Justice Commission, the Council of The American Law Institute, the Committee on Science, Technology, and Law of the National Academy of Sciences, and the James Irvine Foundation. He has previously served on the Board of Trustees of Stanford University and the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Excellent Education, the American Constitution Society, the National Women’s Law Center, and the Public Welfare Foundation. Justice Liu holds a B.S. from Stanford University, an M.Phil. from Oxford University, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Immediately after law school, he clerked for Judge David S. Tatel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and later clerked on the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the state's highest court. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts. The court conducts regular sessions in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento; it may also hold special sessions elsewhere.
Jeffrey S. Sutton
Jeffrey S. Sutton has served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit since 2003. He was previously a partner with the law firm of Jones Day and served as State Solicitor of the State of Ohio. In his career as an advocate, he argued twelve cases in the United States Supreme Court and numerous cases in the state supreme courts and federal courts of appeal.
Judge Sutton served as a law clerk to Justices Lewis F. Powell, Jr., and Antonin Scalia of the United States Supreme Court, as well as Judge Thomas J. Meskill of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Judge Sutton served as Chair of the Federal Judicial Conference Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure from 2012 to 2016. He was appointed to that committee by Chief Justice Roberts. He has also served on the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules. He was appointed to that committee by Chief Justice Rehnquist in 2005, and Chief Justice Roberts appointed him to be Chair of that committee in 2009. He is a Council member of The American Law Institute. Since 1993, Judge Sutton has been an adjunct professor at The Ohio State University College of Law, where he teaches seminars on State Constitutional Law, the United States Supreme Court, and Appellate Advocacy. Judge Sutton has authored books and articles on a wide variety of topics, including many on state constitutional law and federalism. His publications include State Constitutional Law: The Modern Experience, as well as The Law of Judicial Precedent. Judge Sutton received his B.A. from Williams College and his J.D. from The Ohio State University College of Law. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has jurisdiction over federal appeals arising from the states of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. The Court sits in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Potter Stewart United States Courthouse.
For a transcript of the full episode, please contact communications@ali.org.
