Jamie Hansen/The Bay Citizen

Gov. Jerry Brown talks about state Supreme Court nominee Goodwin Liu at a press conference Tuesday

Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday appointed University of California at Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu to the California Supreme Court.

Liu, 40, was previously nominated by President Barack Obama to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. But Liu withdrew his name in May after the nomination was blocked by a Republican filibuster in the U.S. Senate.

Liu, who teaches constitutional law and education policy, worked for the U.S. Department of Education and in private practice before joining the UC Berkeley law faculty in 2003.

"Professor Liu is an extraordinary man and a distinguished legal scholar and teacher," Brown said in a statement.

UC Berkeley Law School Dean Christopher Edley described Liu as "an exemplary scholar with enormous constitutional knowledge and intellectual rigor."

"Liu is widely admired for his decency, moderation, and admirable judicial temperament," Edley said.

Liu, the son of immigrants from Taiwan, was born in Georgia and grew up in Sacramento. He earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford, a master's degree from Oxford and his law degree from Yale.

He said in a statement Tuesday, "I'm deeply honored by Governor Brown's nomination and look forward to the opportunity to serve the people of California on our state's highest court."

The nomination must be approved by the three-member state Commission on Judicial Appointments.

Liu is Brown's first nomination to the seven-member court and will replace Justice Carlos Moreno, who retired in February.