Robert H. Bork stood before the nation's highest court as a lawyer, making him the first defeated Supreme Court nominee ever to argue before its justices. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines on Wednesday night to approve his nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court. They questioned him vigorously, as did Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who occupies the seat that eluded Bork. Bork is only the sixth man this century to be denied a Supreme Court seat by the Senate and the twenty-sixth in its history.
Robert H. Bork stood before the nation's highest court as a lawyer, making him the first defeated Supreme Court nominee ever to argue before its justices. There was no mention of his 1987 nomination fight as Bork engaged in debate with the justices and opposing lawyers over the complexities of international banking, federal law and related matters. They questioned him vigorously, as did Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who occupies the seat that eluded Bork. Bork is only the sixth man this century to be denied a Supreme Court seat by the Senate and the twenty-sixth in its history.