Statement on the American Bar Association's Rating of Supreme Court Nominee Robert H. Bork

September 9, 1987

I was especially pleased that the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Federal Judiciary today announced that it has voted to give Judge Robert H. Bork the ABA's highest possible rating of fitness for Supreme Court nominees: well qualified. The ABA describes this rating as ``reserved for those who meet the highest standards of professional competence, judicial temperament and integrity. The person in this category must be among the best available for appointment to the Supreme Court.'' The ABA conferred its highest rating on Judge Bork only after a careful and extensive investigation.

In 1982, when I nominated Judge Bork to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, he likewise received the ABA's highest possible rating. Judge Bork is widely regarded as one of the most qualified individuals ever nominated to the Supreme Court, often compared to such great jurists as Justices Holmes, Brandeis, Frankfurter, Black, and the man he is to replace -- Justice Lewis Powell. Given Judge Bork's qualifications, abilities, and this endorsement from the ABA, I urge the Senate to move quickly to confirm him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.