Susan Wittenberg Liebeler (born July 3, 1942) is an American lawyer and businesswoman, a former official in the administration of President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, and a former federal judicial nominee to the

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the Federal judiciary of ...

Early life and education

Born Susan Levine in New Castle, Pennsylvania, Liebeler graduated from New Castle High School in New Castle in 1960. She earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1963 and a law degree from

University of California, Los Angeles School of Law The UCLA School of Law is one of 12 professional schools at the University of California, Los Angeles. UCLA Law has been consistently ranked by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the top 20 law schools in the United States since the inception ...

in 1966. She served as senior editor of the UCLA Law Review, and was named to the

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...

Professional career

Liebeler worked for two different law firms in Los Angeles from 1967 until 1970. She joined Republic Corp. in 1970 as a practicing attorney, leaving Republic in 1971. From 1972 until 1973, Liebeler was general counsel for Verit Industries. From 1973 until 1985, Liebeler was a professor of law at Loyola University in Los Angeles. In 1984, Liebeler was designated by President

as a commissioner at the United States International Trade Commission. In 1986, Reagan named Liebeler as the commission's chairman serving from 1986 to 1988. From 1988 until 1994, Liebeler was a partner with the Los Angeles law firm

Irell & Manella Irell & Manella LLP is an American law firm founded in 1941 by lawyers Lawrence E. Irell (1912–2000) and Arthur Manella (1917–1997). It has approximately 70 lawyers (down from a high of over 220), and placed 183rd on The American Lawyer's 202 ...

and also worked at LRN leaving in 1994. Since 1995, Liebeler has been president of Lexpert Research Services, a company that she founded.

Failed nomination to the Federal Circuit

On March 23, 1987, Reagan nominated Liebeler to be a judge on the

to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of

Shiro Kashiwa Shiro Kashiwa (October 24, 1912 – March 13, 1998) was an American lawyer and judge who was the first Attorney General of Hawaii to be appointed after it became a state in 1959. He served as a judge of the United States Court of Claims, then as ...

. Democrats in the Senate opposed Liebeler's nomination because of some decisions she had made while at the International Trade Commission. On February 23, 1988, the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee narrowly voted 7-6 not to report Liebeler's nomination favorably out of committee. However, the committee also voted 8-5 to report on her nomination without a recommendation. No vote ever was scheduled on her nomination, however, and her nomination was returned to Reagan on October 22, 1988. President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

declined to renominate Liebeler upon winning the presidency. President George H.W. Bush eventually appointed

S. Jay Plager Sheldon Jay Plager (born May 16, 1931, Long Branch, New Jersey) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Early life and education Born in Long Branch, New Jersey to A.L. and Clara ...

to fill the seat to which Liebeler had been nominated.

Personal

Liebeler's husband, retired UCLA law professor and onetime counsel to the

Warren Commission The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States Pr ...

Wesley Liebeler Wesley James "Jim" Liebeler (May 9, 1931 – September 25, 2002) was an American law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (''emeritus'') and George Mason University, Warren Commission staff member, and director of the Federal T ...

(also known as Jim Liebeler), was killed in a plane crash in

Lake Winnipesaukee Lake Winnipesaukee () is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located in the Lakes Region at the foothills of the White Mountains. It is approximately long (northwest-southeast) and from wide (northeast-southwest), covering & ...

Gilford, New Hampshire Gilford is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,699 at the 2020 census, up from 7,126 at the 2010 census.United States Census BureauAmerican FactFinder 2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011. Situat ...

on September 25, 2002. Liebeler currently lives in Malibu, California.

References

External links