Robert Bork called the Court's decision in Lochner v. New York an "abomination" that "lives in the law as a symbol, indeed the quintessence of judicial usurpation of power."

"Unquestionably, only exceptional circumstances amounting to a judicial usurpation of power will justify the invocation of mandamus," his petition said in the course of arguing that the long delay justified the Supreme Court's intervention.

While certain situations "may indeed require 'judicial usurpation' " of local zoning powers," he wrote, "this court believes that only judicial supervision is required at this time.

Yet, in A Matter of Interpretation , his reprise of the traditional jeremiad against judicial usurpation concludes with a twist.

ON ABORTION Roe v. Wade is an unconstitutional decision, a serious and wholly unjustifiable judicial usurpation of state legislative authority.

The Standard denounced Judge Henderson's order as "an assault on popular will" and an act of "judicial usurpation."

Judge Bork denounced the ruling as a judicial usurpation without constitutional validity.

He viewed it as a judicial "usurpation" for the Supreme Court to assume the role of a third chamber in these cases.

Judge Bork had long denounced that decision as judicial usurpation of power, saying the Connecticut law was "nutty" but constitutional.

Offering no specific platform, he focused exclusively on the idea that he opposed "judicial usurpation" and believed "all power belonged to the people".