Robert Bork

Robert Heron Bork (born March 1, 1927 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a conservative American legal scholar and former judge who advocates the judicial philosophy of originalism. Bork is a former Solicitor General. In 1987 he was nominated for the position of Associate Justice on the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan, but his nomination was rejected by the Senate in a 58-42 vote.

Supreme Court nomination

Bork was a circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1982 to 1988, and was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to the Supreme Court in 1987. A hotly contested Senate debate over his nomination then ensued, partly fueled by strong opposition by civil and women's rights groups concerned with what they claimed was Bork's desire to roll back civil rights decisions of the Warren and Burger courts.

Related Topics:
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit - 1982 - 1988 - Ronald Reagan - Supreme Court - Senate - Warren - Burger

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Two dramatic events of the Senate debate were Senator Edward Kennedy's speech opposing Bork's nomination and the disclosure of Bork's video rental history. Within an hour of Bork's nomination to the Court, Kennedy (D-MA) took to the Senate floor with a strong condemnation of it. "Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, children could not be taught about evolution," said Kennedy. Kennedy's speech fueled widespread public skepticism of Bork's nomination. Others, including Bork himself, found the speech an egregious misrepresentation of his views. During debate over his nomination, Bork's video rental history was leaked to the press, which led to the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 being enacted. His video rental history included A Day at the Races, Ruthless People and The Man Who Knew Too Much.

Related Topics:
Senate - Edward Kennedy - Video Privacy Protection Act - A Day at the Races - Ruthless People - The Man Who Knew Too Much

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To pro-choice rights groups, Bork's originalist views and his belief that the Constitution does not contain a "right to privacy" were viewed as a clear signal that, should he become a Justice on the Supreme Court, he would vote to reverse the Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. Accordingly, a large number of womens' groups mobilized to press for Bork's rejection, and the resulting 1987 Senate confirmation hearings became an intensely ideological battle. On October 23, 1987, the Senate rejected Bork's confirmation by a 58-42 vote. The vacant seat on the court to which Bork was nominated eventually went to Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Related Topics:
Originalist - Roe v. Wade - Senate - October 23 - 1987 - Anthony Kennedy

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The history of Bork's disputed nomination is still a lightning rod in the contentious debate over the limits of the "Advice and Consent of the Senate" that the U.S. Constitution requires for presidents' judicial nominees.

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