Volume 34, Number 20 · December 17, 1987
From Bork to Kennedy
By Ronald Dworkin
Judge Bork's defeat is already history; we have since had the farce of Ginsburg's downfall and have now the Kennedy nomination to worry about. But a second battle over Bork is under way—the battle over the best explanation of his defeat—and though I shall have to consider whether and why Judge Kennedy is a more attractive nominee than Bork was, the meaning of Bork's loss is my central concern here. Judge Ginsburg's destruction was sad, but it raised no issues of constitutional dimension. Of course it is absurd and embarrassing that his occasional use of marijuana several years ago while he was a law professor should be thought to have disqualified him. Smoking pot is and was illegal, and law professors should not break the law. But a professor who confessed that he broke the speed limit on occasion, or had once or twice driven after a few drinks, would not have been punished as Ginsburg was.
Feature, 4523 words
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