The Issue: The passing of Judge Robert Bork, who was infamously denied a seat on the Supreme Court.
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Judge Robert Bork, who recently passed away, will forever be known as the divisive figure at the center of the controversial 1987 Supreme Court Senate-confirmation hearings (“Robert Bork, 1927-2012,” Editorial, Dec. 20).
These hearings, after which Bork was rejected by a 58-42 margin, set the dangerous precedent that a highly qualified Supreme Court nominee could be rejected due to his political and ideological views.
Bork was a brilliant legal scholar, an expert in the field of antitrust and constitutional law, but was denied entry to the Supreme Court for no other reason than his views.
Kenneth Zimmerman
Huntington Beach, Calif.
I was wondering why it wasn’t mentioned that Robert Bork fired Archibald Cox, the Watergate special prosecutor. Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus refused to fire Cox at the request of the White House. They resigned in protest. Bork did the deed in what came to be called the Saturday Night Massacre.Carol DiLello
The Bronx
Bork appears to have gotten the last laugh on Ted Kennedy.
Had Bork been approved for the Supreme Court, President Obama would now be in position to replace a conservative judge with a radical judge, thereby tipping the balance between conservatives and liberals. Maybe conservatives should be happy Ted Kennedy had his way. Steve Gidumal
Orlando, Fla.
Bork, a man of justice, received no justice. He was a strange public figure, but we lost a great judge — a bad deal for society.
And what was Bork’s great crime? He believed the Constitution meant what it said, which to liberals is a hanging offense. Gary Schwartz
Fort Lee