Goodwin Liu, associate justice of the California Supreme Court shares what inspires him as a leader
As an associate justice on the California Supreme Court, Goodwin Liu takes inspiration from many different places, but especially young people.
“Young people sort of come into the world and combat issues as if it's the very first time, which it is for them,” he said. “And they're not jaded by decades of experience, and so you want to be able to have that freshness and not lose inspiration just because you've been around the block many times, and you know how slow change can be."
Before his appointment to the California Supreme Court, Goodwin was a law professor and associate dean at the University of California Berkley School of Law and a visiting professor at Harvard University. Part of the reason Goodwin stayed close to teaching is because of young people, stating, “you never want to lose the idealism that young people have.”
Liu’s decision to attend Salzburg Global’s A Whole System Approach to Justice: Creating a Brighter and Safer Future for Today’s Youth program was mostly out of curiosity.
“My work as a judge has intersected with juvenile justice, actually, quite frequently. And I’m not an expert in this area, but I’m here to learn,” said Goodwin, who emphasized the importance of learning from experts. “One of the most important things is to cross national perspectives, which is something sorely lacking in most American contexts.”
Goodwin also finds inspiration in other leaders’ commitment to a cause and that sense of a shared purpose.
Notably, Goodwin clerked for fellow Salzburg Global Fellow Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the US Supreme Court, who he described as an amazing person.
“Tremendous tenacity. Tremendous life story, a tremendous perseverance in the face of many challenges, both personal and professional in real life,” said Goodwin. “And I think when you see someone overcome those challenges and still do it with a kind of hopefulness that the world is not just destined to be wrong or bad or whatever, but you can actually do something about it. I think it's pretty inspiring.”
He stressed the importance of having a strong moral compass as a leader. “You have to have a sense of what you feel are the injustices in the world. And I don't mean like ideologically, I mean through careful observation, study and experience,” Goodwin said. “Sometimes you have to kind of observe as such, I mean, the world is complicated, and it's not black and white. But every so often, you have to encounter a situation and just say, ‘I’m sorry, but that’s just wrong,’ and know that. That is the motivation for doing something about it. Making a change.”
In the future, Goodwin hopes to see youth justice issues more humanized. “As judges, policymakers and advocates, it’s crucial to be grounded in research and data and have [an] evidence base for what we do…[B]ut what really moves people is their hearts,” he said. “You need to make issues sort of real and almost emotional for them…And that’s hard to do at scale.”
Goodwin Liu was a participant at the Salzburg Global program A Whole System Approach to Justice: Creating a Brighter and Safer Future for Today’s Youth, which is part of a multi-year series Global Innovations on Youth Violence, Safety and Justice. The program was hosted in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation and the David Rockefeller Fund.
