Robert Bork served as U.S. solicitor general and was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan.(Photo: Alex Wong Getty Images)
Robert Bork, a former federal judge who was rejected for the U.S. Supreme Court in 1987, has died. He was 85.
Bork's family confirmed his death.
In
1987, Bork was serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia when President Ronald Reagan nominated to serve on the Supreme
Court. Bork's nomination roiled the Senate, which got into a heated
debate over the judge's stance on civil rights. He was rejected by the
Senate by a vote of 42-58.
Bork first rose to prominence in 1973
as solicitor general, and he fired special Watergate prosecutor
Archibald Cox on the orders of President Richard Nixon.The incident,
known as the Saturday Night Massacre, helped fuel the drive to impeach
Nixon over the Watergate affair.
Bork served on the federal
appeals bench from 1982 to 1988. After leaving the circuit court, he
became a writer and commentator and protested what he saw as the
overreach by the Supreme Court.
USA Today