Remarks at a White House
Briefing on the Nomination of Robert H. Bork To Be an Associate Justice of the
Supreme Court of the United States
The President. Well, welcome to the
Well,
a lot of historic decisions have been taken in this building, but none more
important than the reason that we rally today. Americans who are committed to a
Supreme Court with the highest standards speak with one voice. Judge Bork is
not the conservative or liberal nominee; he is
In
the realm of legal philosophy and jurisprudence, as you know, labels can be
deceiving. There's a little story about the great Supreme Court Justice,
Benjamin Cardozo, that makes the point. Many years ago, when he was serving
on the Court, he received a letter from a member of the public, and it read:
``Dear Judge Cardozo, I read in the newspaper that
you are a liberal judge. Will you send me $10, as I'm really very hard up. Sincerely.'' I don't have the
name. [Laughter]
But
more relevant than a political label are the qualifications of the nominee, and
all of us better understand the significance of that point. Our history
commands that the nomination of a Supreme Court Justice by a President and the
act of confirmation by the United States Senate be carried out with the highest
level of statesmanship. Whether President, Senator, or concerned citizen, when
we enter the halls of justice and select the next steward of our Constitution,
Americans traditionally leave outside their partisan leanings and the narrow
special interests. Each of us owes a sacred debt to our ancestors, who
established the rule of law in this Republic, and to the citizens of the
future, to whom we entrust our nation's destiny. In a special way, this duty
now falls upon the United States Senate as it nears a crossroad, a crossroad of
conscience, as it prepares to decide on the confirmation of Robert Bork. Let us
insist that the Senate not give in to noisy, strident pressures and that
elected officials not be swayed by a deliberate campaign of disinformation and
distortion.
Retired
Chief Justice Warren Burger took the unprecedented step of addressing the
Senate Judiciary Committee because of, in his words, ``the hype and
disinformation on Bork.'' And today all of us join Chief Justice Warren Burger
in urging the Senate to reject those who want a Justice who makes law and
approve Robert Bork, who believes a Justice should interpret the law.
[Applause] It's apparent that Chief Justice Burger is not alone.
Other
noteworthy people are coming forward. In his testimony before the Senate
Judiciary Committee, Howard Krane, managing partner
of one of our nation's most prestigious law firms and long-time associate of
Justice Bork -- Judge Bork, I should say -- stated that Judge Bork has proven
to be ``a man free from prejudice toward any group, who has exemplified the
values of equality throughout his life.'' Well, Mr. Krane
told this compelling story of how, as a young associate in a major law firm,
Robert Bork courageously confronted the senior partners in that firm who had
decided to deny employment to Mr. Krane simply
because he was Jewish. Robert Bork urged those partners to consider Mr. Krane solely on the merits, and today Mr. Krane is the managing partner of that law firm.
Last
week President Carter's counsel, Lloyd Cutler, testified in support of Judge
Bork's nomination. Although he disagrees with Robert Bork on some political
issues, Lloyd Cutler is convinced that Judge Bork's judicial philosophy represents
the mainstream of contemporary thought. He believes, as I do, that Robert
Bork's training, experience, character, and sheer intellectual capacity give
him the potential to be a great Supreme Court Justice, like the legendary
Oliver Wendell Holmes and Louis Brandeis.
This
is high praise, indeed, from a Democrat. But it's in keeping with a
well-respected tradition that we Americans apply to the selection of Supreme
Court Justices: a President, whether Republican or Democrat, liberal or
conservative, seeks out the best qualified person who generally shares the
President's judicial philosophy. The Senate then decides whether the nominee
meets the qualifications to serve. This way, over the years, the Supreme Court
becomes composed of the best minds reflecting varied but accepted judicial
philosophies. Now is not the time to change the standard, to break that
tradition. And I know you join me in calling for statesmanship, not
partisanship, in the confirmation of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court.
There's
a growing and impressive list of other leaders of our society who support the
confirmation of Judge Bork: two sitting Justices of the Supreme Court, Justices
Stevens and White; four former Attorneys General; legal scholars from around
the country; the American Farm Bureau; the Concerned Women of America, and last
week, leaders of law enforcement organizations representing over 400,000 peace
officers and prosecutors. This diverse and distinguished group, among many
others, has stepped forward, because they recognize an eminent and honorable
legal scholar and jurist and resent the unfair and unfounded attacks that are
being made.
Beyond
his scholarship and judicial qualifications, there's nothing more significant
for his confirmation than the war on crime. Last week, Fred Foreman,
representing the Nation's district attorneys, observed that there is a large
group in this country made up of women, minorities, the weak, and the aged.
Although not well-organized, he reckoned they were in Judge Bork's corner,
because they are the victims of crime. And I guess he ought to know; he and the
thousands of young prosecutors around the country are the ones who have to
vindicate the rights of the victims and send the criminals to jail. Now, both
as Solicitor General and as judge, Robert Bork has been a principled champion
in the fight against crime, and that's the kind of Justice honest citizens
deserve to have on the Court.
You
know, sometimes we may not always hear of some of the ridiculous decisions that
are handed down and why we need judges like Judge Bork. Out
in my own State, when I was Governor of California, there were two officers on
the drug detail. They had, based on certain evidence, a warrant to
legally go and inspect a home for drugs. And they went in, and they couldn't
find the drugs. It was supposed to be heroin. The husband and wife stood there.
And as they were just going out the door, one of them turned. There was a baby
there in the crib. And he removed the baby's diaper, and there was the heroin.
The case was thrown out of court, because the baby hadn't given its permission
to be searched. We've had enough of that.
Judge
Bork has argued for more reasonable interpretations of criminal procedures that
assure both justice and the prompt conviction of criminals rather than allowing
dangerous criminals to go free on unjustified technicalities. He has not
hesitated to overturn convictions where genuine constitutional rights have been
violated. He has consistently rendered judgment in a clear-eyed manner with the
aim of protecting the rights of the innocent. And that's what justice should be
all about -- protecting our rights as Americans. And that's why 400,000 law
enforcement officers have thrown their support behind Judge Bork, the battle
against crime, and for the rule of law. Criminals terrorize the streets in too
many of
It's
time to decide whether our children and our children's children deserve an
Now,
we all have a lot of work to do getting out the message for Judge Bork. And I'd
like to thank those of you who have already devoted so much time and energy to
our cause. If he's going to overcome the storm of distortions that have swirled
up against him, each of us, and Americans across the country, are going to have
to double the effort on behalf of the truth. Three choices are what this battle
is all about: the choice between liberal judges who make up the law or sound
judges who interpret the law; the choice between liberal judges whose decisions
protect criminals or firm judges whose decisions protect the victims; the
choice between liberal judges selected by the liberal special interests or
distinguished judges selected to serve the people.
But
before closing, it's worthy considering why Judge Bork's scholarly criticism of
some court rulings has aroused such an attack. Over 50 years ago, the English
legal scholar Sir Frederick Pollock wrote regarding our Oliver Wendell Holmes:
``Some people seem to think that Mr. Justice Holmes is
always dissenting. Does he really dissent much oftener than his learned
brethren, or is the impression due to the weight rather than the number of the
dissents?'' I can't help suspecting that it is the strength of Judge Bork's
judicial analysis that has driven some to try to defeat the man after failing
to defeat his ideas. It would be a sorry day for this country if fear of an
idea well expressed were to deny the country the wisdom of that idea.
I
do not believe the United States Senate will succumb to allowing the special
interests to choose Supreme Court members. The men and women raised up by the
people to that great chamber will listen and will recognize that Judge Robert
Bork will enrich and invigorate that court and the Constitution it guards.
Again, I thank all of you, and God bless all of you.
Gentleman
has a question?
Q.
I'm a black pastor. My name is George Lucas, and I'm the pastor of the
We
have an overabundance of people that support pornography, sex, liquor, drugs,
the whole bit. And until we bring revival back into the Nation, we need our
Congressmen, our Senators, the State government -- I ordered you a Bible, Mr.
President, from
What
happens: We allow certain black leaders who are not really black leaders. Jesse
Jackson's not a leader; he's not my leader. I don't cotton to the fact of black
leaders going to Communist countries, putting their arms around Fidel Castro
and the rest of these rascals, talking about they love
I
came up in the ghetto of
We
need to support you, and I call on Americans, black Americans, today, of all
persuasions, some that are poor. And you were right, Mr. President; they do
support you. But we don't have a forum, and the only time that I had a chance
to speak was today. And I want to just use it and say, God bless you, and keep
on keeping on, and we're calling on Americans all over to support you.
The President. May I just respond to
the reverend and tell you that when I came into this office, I came in with a
declaration that I believed this nation was hungering for a spiritual revival.
And I believe all over the country that is happening, and I've tried every way
I can to help bring it about. You're so absolutely right. And Abraham Lincoln
-- who they tell me is still in the White House over there -- [laughter] --
that Abraham Lincoln said that he could not conduct the duties of this office
for 15 minutes if he did not believe that he could call upon one who is
stronger and wiser than all others and that he had been driven to his knees
many times because there was no place else to go. Well, I subscribe to that.
And the only thing that worries me is that sometimes I wonder if maybe I'm
going to call and He's going to give me a busy signal, because I do it so
often. [Laughter]
Thank
you very much.
Note: The President
spoke at