The Senate Judiciary Committee approved, on a party-line vote, the nomination of 39-year-old UC Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu to be a judge on San Francisco’s 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, clearing the way for possible confirmation by the full Senate. Republicans are concerned Liu will be an activist judge. Democrats said he’s clearly qualified, and pointed to his statement at a hearing last month that he could set aside his personal views and decide cases based on legal precedent.