Goodwin Liu's nomination to be a judge on the US Court Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has moved a step closer to fruition with the Senate Judiciary Committee vote to move it to the full-floor for debate.

Liu [1] is an associate dean and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, law school.

If the Senate approves him as an appeals court judge, Liu would be in line for a Supreme Court nomination and potentially the first Asian American [2] on the high court.

That's one reason many in the Asian American community [3] are closely watching his nomination to the appeals court.

Liu's legal and academic credentials seem flawless, but he is opposed by Republicans [4] and will likely face opposition for his liberal views on affirmative action and abortion.