Taking aim at a longtime opponent, Senator Jesse Helms today tried to block the nomination of Walter E. Dellinger 3d to a senior Justice Department position.
Mr. Helms tied up the Senate for much of the day in a filibuster that he began Wednesday evening over the nomination of Mr. Dellinger to become Assistant Attorney General for the office of legal counsel. A vote to break the filibuster narrowly failed, and Senate Democrats said they would try again next week for a final vote.
Over the years, Mr. Dellinger, 52, a native of North Carolina and a constitutional scholar from Duke University School of Law, has worked for candidates who ran against Mr. Helms, a North Carolina Republican.
After receiving support from top Democratic officials from North Carolina, Mr. Dellinger was approved unanimously by the Judiciary Committee in July. In his confirmation hearing, he was praised by the committee's moderate and conservative Republicans, including the ranking minority member, Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah. From a Grudge to a Cause
Although Mr. Dellinger's extensive writings have been at odds with views of conservative Republicans on issues like flag burning and prayer in schools, his work as an adviser to the Judiciary Committee earned him endorsements from all of the committee's Republicans. For months, his only critics in Congress have been Mr. Helms and North Carolina's other Republican Senator, Lauch Faircloth, who had managed to delay confirmation votes in the committee and on the Senate floor.
But in recent days, Mr. Helms has turned a personal grudge into a political cause, enlisting most of the Republicans in an effort to oppose Mr. Dellinger as a way of making a statement to the White House and Congressional Democrats that the Republicans want to be consulted on all nominations.
Mr. Helms and Mr. Faircloth assert that the White House violated a Senate courtesy by not consulting them about the nomination of a North Carolinian. And the Republicans criticized the Administration for already appointing Mr. Dellinger as an acting assistant attorney general, even though Republican Presidents had made similar interim appointments of nominees.
"The nomination of Walter Dellinger is not about his nomination but about the Senate itself," Mr. Helms said. "If his position on issues could be made known to the American public, the vast majority would say he should not serve." He also said he opposed Mr. Dellinger because he had advised the Democrats in their successful fight to deny Robert H. Bork a seat on the Supreme Court in 1987.
Senate Democrats lined up to praise Mr. Dellinger, with Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts calling him "a wise and compassionate man of unquestioned character and integrity." Was a White House Lawyer
"This is not the time to refight the battle over Bork or any other battles of the past," Senator Kennedy said. "Professor Dellinger should not be punished for his willingness to come down and enter the fray."
Known informally as the Attorney General's lawyer, the Office of Legal Counsel is supposed to resolve disputes between Federal agencies. It provides legal advice to the Executive Branch on all constitutional questions and on many Presidential matters, including questions under the War Powers Act.
Mr. Dellinger, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Yale Law School, was a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black.
