A Public Fight.

During the failed Supreme Court confirmation of Robert H. Bork in 1986, what had previously been a largely behind-the-scenes process moved suddenly into a public forum, a daytime news show. The unprecedented television proceedings in the Senate Judiciary Committee emerged from President Ronald Reagan's announced intention to change the philosophical orientation of the nation's highest court and from the liberal establishment's determination to prevent this. In the aftermath, the Supreme Court nomination process was changed forever, as four more nominees were subjected to similar scrutiny, culminating in the Clarence Thomas confirmation spectacle of 1991. Many critics of the changed process have decried confirmation "by sound bite" and the role of media spin doctors, but the televised hearings also made clear to the viewing public how much power is wielded in the Supreme Court and therefore how important it is that citizens know...