In an interview earlier this week, Bok said hewas hesitant to intervene in the Dalton decision.

Bok yesterday refused to comment on eithercase.

Tribe said that Bok's decision to intervene onbehalf of a small vocal minority in the Trubekcase would necessitate a reappraisal of the Daltondecision.

"Now that Derek Bok has intervened to overrule,it would be particularly difficult to defend notintervening in the case of the denied promotion ofClare Dalton," Tribe said.

Those professors who asked Bok to review theTrubek case said that the president's interventionwas needed to maintain the scholarly standards ofthe Law School.

Professor of Law Robert Clark said that Bok'sdecision in the Trubek case "was a difficult one,but the correct decision."

Clark, one of the opponents to Trubek's tenure,said that there were questions about the qualityof his scholarship. Bok's decision "representswhat ought to be the primary value: scholarshiprather than administrative ability," he said.

Clark said that supporters of Trubek wereciting his administrative skills as much as hisscholarly talents. "I think Bok said, 'pay moreattention to scholarly merit," Clark said.

Supporters of Trubek said he was a superbscholar and worthy of tenure. The visitingprofessor is known for conducting a multi-milliondollar empirical study of the way justice isadministered in the United States. Supporters saidadministrative skills were vital to Trubek'sscholarship.

Professors on both sides of the politicalspectrum agreed that Bok's intervention in thiscase ended the traditionally assumed independenceof the Law School, although they differed on theimpact of this change.

"The Harvard [Law School] faculty is in a farbetter position to assess tenure decisions thanBok," said Tribe.

Bok made the decision after consulting with anad hoc committee of legal experts. Tribe said thecommittee convened by Bok was "distinguished," buthe added, "knowing the names I would havepredicted a negative vote."

Professor of Law Duncan M. Kennedy '64, who isconsidered to be one of the leaders of CLS, saidthat having Bok intervene was a bad precedent.

"The process is extraordinarily arbitrary, amockery of procedural fairness, and... Derek Bokjust doesn't have the intellectual and scholarlycapabilities to make a fair evaluation" of atenure candidate, Kennedy said.

Instead Kennedy said, "Bok has bought into theright wing view that diversity leads tomediocrity."

But Clark said that when he went before the adhoc committee that Bok convened, "he seemedextremely well prepared. I was amazed that he hadtaken such pains" in studying the case.

In general Clark said of the faculty at the LawSchool, "our perception is often too inbred."

"We need some outside reviewers to keep ushonest," he said.

Yale Law Professor Geoffrey Hazard, who was amember of Bok's ad hoc committee, said thatpresidential intervention "was uncommon" butlaudable.

"Yale would be helped by some such review. Weget so introverted we begin to lose touch," Hazardsaid