All could have learned from Bork

All could have learned from Bork

Judge Robert Bork’s recent death should remind us of the merits obtained by adhering to the mandates set forth in our primary governing document, the U.S. Constitution.

Our Founders were keenly aware of the danger from over reaching intrusions into early American lives due to central authority of the King of England imposing punitive measures designed to tax, curtail, restrict or oppressively prohibit most activities associated especially with commerce, individual pursuits and the exercise of religious practices.

The single most important aspect of the Constitution is not its direct mandates but the implied moral instructive to adhere to its clearly articulated clauses. Legislatively challenging and attempting to interpret it to fit the personal agenda of either a chief executive (president), a legislative leader or a judge can only erode and eventually completely undermine the rule of law stated in the Constitution and the country it serves. Judge Bork understood the dangers of deviating from this moral instructive and bravely said so.

For example he stated, “Without the Constitution’s original intent as their guide, justices (judges) are left with merely their own moral philosophy.”

Robert Bork’s presidential nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court more than 30 years ago failed when Senate confirmation was denied by Senate leaders whose philosophical political agenda trumped reason. He since continued to wisely instruct by his teaching in academia and elsewhere until his death at 85.

Atty. Carl D. Rafoth, Youngstown