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PAGE 11 — The Georgia Bulletin, July 16, 1987 Washington Letter Bork And Th BY LIZ SCHEVTCHUK WASHINGTON (NC) - He’s often labeled a “judicial conservative,” but in some ways Robert H. Bork, federal appeals court judge and Supreme Court nominee, might just as well be described as a judicial enigma. For example, Bork’s views on abortion have both agreed with and con tradicted those of pro lifers, who currently are rallying to his support. And his views on cases in volving parochial schools have taken different tacks: He disagreed with a Supreme Court ruling striking down a state law that forbade attend ance in parochial schools, but he defended the Title I pro gram providing remedial education for parochial school pupils. During the 1981 Senate hearings on a proposed human life bill, Bork attacked the Supreme Court’s 1973 abortion rul ing as “an unconstitutional decision, a serious and wholly unjustifiable judicial usurpation of state legislative authori ty-” But in the same testimony he rejected the proposed bill, which would have declared that life begins at conception and would have defined the 14th Amendment’s protection of the person to include the unborn. He said the question the proposed bill raised was “whether it is proper to adopt unconstitutional countermeasures to redress unconstitutional action by the court." “I think it is not proper," he continued. “The deformation of the Constitution is not properly cured by further defor mations." Bork’s assessment of the bill was shared by Archibald Cox, whom Bork had once fired on orders of President Richard M. Nixon when Bork was U.S. solicitor general and Cox was the special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal. In 1971, Bork repudiated as a judicial usurpation of state legislative powers the 1965 Supreme Court ruling in Griswold vs. Connecticut, which struck down that state’s ban on the use of contraceptives, even by married couples. But the same rationale that led Bork to regard Griswold as a bad decision also led him to reject a 1925 Supreme Court ruling, in Pierce vs. Society of Sisters, that upheld the right of parents to send their children to parochial schools. Bork explained his sentiments in an article in the Indiana Law Journal in fall 1971. Judge Robert Bork These students have selected a high school that is: 1. Private 2. Catholic 3. College Preparatory 4. Co-Educational 5. Boarding In making your selection, consider what we have to offer. For information, contact: Rev. Marcus J. Voss, O.S.B., Headmaster St. Bernard Preparatory School 101 St. Bernard Drive, S.E. Cullman, AL 35055 (205) 739-6682 Law: The Issues And The Enigma “Griswold ... is an unprincipled decision, both in the way in which it derives a new constitutional right and in the way it defines that right, or, rather fails to define it,” he wrote. “We are left with no idea of the sweep of the right of privacy and ... no notion of the cases to which it may or may not be applied in the future. “Courts must accept any value choice the legislature makes unless it clearly runs contrary to a choice made in the framing of the Constitution,” he added. However, “this means that Griswold’s antecedents were also wrongly decided,” he wrote, Citing several examples, including “Pierce vs. Society of Sisters, which set aside 1 a statute compelling all Oregon schoolchildren to attend public schools. “With some of these cases I am in political agreement, and perhaps Pierce’s result could be reached on acceptable grounds,, but there is no justification for the court’s methods,” he stated. Yet in 1974, when he was solicitor general, Bork filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Supreme Court supporting the Title I program, then under review in a Missouri case. His brief argued that “the use of public school teachers to provide remedial educational services to educationally deprived children on private school premises would not violate ... the First Amendment.” Eleven years later, the Supreme Court, voting 5-4, ruled that Title I provisions allowing public school teachers to in struct students- in parochial school classrooms were un constitutional violations of the First Amendment. How far Bork would go in extending interpretation of other rights under the Constitution similarly is ambiguous. In the Indiana Law Journal article, for instance, Bork questioned the use of the 14th Amendment, a post-Civil War amendment'calling for “equal protection of the laws” for all citizens, to prevent use of racially discriminatory private covenants. He likewise suggested that the First Amendment, which, among other guarantees, forbids laws “abridging the freedom of speech,” protects only “political” speech. “Constitutional protection should be accorded only to speech that is explicitly political,” he wrote. “There is no basis for judicial intervention to protect any other form of expression, be it scientific, literary or that variety of ex pression we call obscene or pornographic.". While Bork’s proposal that pornography enjoys no free speech rights might be welcome to many Americans, his FIRST TO HAVE GUINNESS, HARP, AND BASS ALE ON TAP!!! Exclusively Served By The Pint At County Cork Pub 56 East Andrews Drive, N.W. — Buckhead — Upper Level Sweet 16 Atlanta’s “Only” Authentic Irish Pub July 16-18 - “Guinness” - Jim & Laura July 21-25 - Kevin Warde & Susan Daly July 28-Aug. 1 - Kevin Warde & Susan Daly Aug. 4- 8 - Kevin Warde & Susan Daly Your Hosts Cynthia & Art Fessenden Open 3 p.m. till 2 a.in. Daily Traveling Irish Minstrels Tues.-Sat.-Call for info Irish Gift Shop 262-A-BAR W Road Britannia Ltd. Professional Repair Service All Foreign Cars Fuel Injection and Diagnostic Center Ken Dewis, Prop. Free Estimates 266-1699 Most Major Credit 14 yrs in Buckhead 237-1683 Cards Accepted 3190 Roswell Rd., N.E. Buckhead strict limits on free speech guarantees might also pose other dilemmas. For example, would his “explicitly political” free speech test cover the rights of demonstrators motivated by moral and religious scruples — not by politics — to picket abor tionists’ homes or offices? Probably only Bork himself knows, and until his confir mation hearings begin Sept. 15, these and other questions will remain unanswered. JUVENTUD CATOLICA DE ATLANTA Los jovenes hispanos de Atlanta se estan reuniendo semanalmente en diversos grupos para compartir y fortalecer su fe dentro de una comunidad. Tambien para participar en retiros, juegos, etc. Existen grupos juveniles en las parroquias: Sagrado Corazon, Atlanta/Immaculate Heart of Mary, Atlan ta/Holy Cross, Atlanta/Holy Family, Marietta/Saint Philip Benizi, Jonesboro/y en los Grant Park Apts./ Para mas informacion pueden llamar al telefono 888-7839. “Queridos jovenes: sed testigos del amor de Dios, sembradores de esperanza y constructores de paz” Juan Pablo II, Roma, 1987. @ Jim Ellis ^ Volkswagen Sales — Service — Parts Call 458-6811 Body Shop — New & Used Cars 5855 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. Chamblee, Ga. Do Your Floors Need A Good Cleaning GEORGIA BULLETIN Ads Bring Results! Sj S 1D Off Any Cleaning Ofj $50 or More With This Coupon - Expires July 31, 1987 | I Hardwood Parquet Kitchen & Bathroom I Waxed & Buffed Tile, Vinyl Cleaned, Sanded &. Re-finished Stripped & Re-finished Efficiency Floor Service i 587-3480 Call Between 9-5 4 Dunn-Rite Painting & Decorating Co. 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