Supreme Court Nomination of Judge Robert Bork

Of all the ironies sure to be brought out in the debate regarding the appointment of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court, perhaps none will be greater than the spectacle of conservatives arguing that Bork’s “qualifications” for the position should shield him from political attack. These, of course, are the same people who brought about the political lynching of three California Supreme Court judges because of their alleged positions on a political issue--namely, the death penalty.

The concept of “judicial independence” is dead, killed by the right-wing in California last year. And it seems to me that liberals would be worse than naive if they allow liberal judges to be attacked for their politics while conservative judges are not.

Therefore, because of his right-wing views on abortion, civil rights and the rights of the accused, I hope the Senate rejects the nomination of Judge Bork. Better still, in the grand tradition of Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), I hope some progressive senators have the guts to filibuster the nomination until a Democrat fills that seat in 1989.

DAVID P. KOPPELMAN

Santa Monica