Spector caves on delaying the hearings.
Alito hearings set for Jan. 9
SCOTUS BLOG
By Lyle Denniston
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, told news organizations on Thursday that the Supreme Court nomination hearings for Circuit Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr., will begin on Monday, Jan. 9 and continue for five days. Specter also said that the Committee will vote on the nomination on Tuesday, Jan. 17, with a final vote on the Senate floor projected for Friday, Jan. 20. (That assumes, of course, that there would be no Democratic filibuster -- an issue not yet resolved.)
It thus appears that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will be on the bench for the Court's sitting that begins on Jan. 9. She would join in the hearings scheduled that week and in the following week. But, if Alito is confirmed on Friday, Jan. 20, he presumably could take his seat quickly, thus being on the bench on Monday, Jan. 23 -- the Court's final public session until Tuesday, Feb. 21. |
