WASHINGTON (April 16, 2010)—A U.S. Senate hearing on the confirmation of federal appellate court nominee Goodwin Liu erupted in partisan bickering Friday.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy took note of the discord at Friday's session and said it’s a double standard for Republicans to criticize a nominee with liberal views, because GOP presidents have traditionally nominated conservative activists for the federal bench.

Ranking Republican Jeff Sessions of Alabama criticized Liu's liberal view of welfare rights, saying that if Liu is confirmed, he would be willing to issue opinions to alter the meaning of the Constitution to support his views.

Obama has nominated Liu for a seat on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.