Chat with Chic, September 4, 1987

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Mike Miller September 4, 1987 (202) 224-6244 BY U.S. SENATOR CHIC HECHT One of the major tasks facing the Senate, following the traditional August recess, is the confirmation of Robert H. Bork as a Supreme Court Justice. The selection of Bork, by Ronald Reagan, has given the President's political opponents a fresh opportunity to play some politics with the nomination. Consequently, most of the head counts have been extremely close. The opportunity to politicize the Bork nomination may prove irresistible to some. Senator Joseph Biden, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, is running for President, and the liberal Democrat from Delaware has already delayed confirmation hearings until September 15, giving the Senate only about three weeks to fill the Supreme Court vacancy before the new term begins October 5. If Americans are somewhat confused over the liberal attacks on Judge Bork this Summer, they have good reason. Last November, Senator Biden told the Philadelphia Inquirer, he'd vote for Bork if Bork is like Scalia, even if interest groups "tear him apart." In late June, shortly after he announced for President, Senator Biden was quoted in the Milwaukee Sentinel as saying he would not vote for another Scalia. On July 1, President Reagan announced the nomination of Judge Bork to replace Justice Powell, who had resigned. The same day, Senator Biden told the Washington Post, he would remain neutral, and would not take a position before the hearings. The same day, the Delaware senator told a Houston press conference he has serious doubts about Bork. By mid-July, the Chairman announced he would probably vote against Bork. Chat with Chic A Report from Washington Judge Bork, however, seems to be gaining support. In a highly unusual move for a sitting Supreme Court Member, Justice John Paul Stevens said that he thinks that Bork is qualified, and should be confirmed. Retired Chief Justice Warren E. Burger agreed, saying the Senate is "overdue already" on confirming Bork, and that he could not recall a nominee "better qualified than Judge Bork." If it is proper for the Senate to consider a nominee's ideology and its impact on the balance of the Court, "then they shouldn't have confirmed me," Burger said. Senate Minority Leader Robert Dole, who could end up clashing with Biden on the Bork nomination, told a convention of law enforcement officers that Senate confirmation of Judge Bork to the Supreme Court could lead to a court decision making it easier to prosecute criminal defendants. President Reagan's previous selections to the high court have been good ones. The President told a nationwide television audience August 12 that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Justice Antonin Scalia are two examples of Justices who interpret the law?not make it. As for his new nominee, President Reagan said: "The American Bar Association gave Judge Bork, who is a brilliant scholar and jurist, its very highest rating. His nomination is being opposed by some because he practices judicial restraint. That means he won't put his own opinions ahead of the law. And that's the way it should be." This Supreme Court vacancy is critically important. Judge Bork should be judged by the Senate on his qualifications. I will be following the proceedings closely. This may be one of the most important votes in the Senate for a long, long time.