1987 Nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court

This photograph shows Ronald Reagan’s nomination of Robert Bork for the Supreme Court on July 1, 1987. Despite a long and distinguished legal career, Bork’s nomination was extremely controversial. As acting attorney general under Richard Nixon, Bork had gone through with the firing of the special prosecutor of the Watergate scandal, Archibald Cox, after two previous acting attorney generals had refused to do so. Bork was staunchly anti-abortion, and his strict constructionist view of the constitution led him to oppose civil rights rulings that supported integration. Bork’s confirmation hearings were, for the first time in Supreme Court confirmation history, televised, and soon became a media circus. The Senate voted 58-42 against his confirmation.