Hearings for Alito Slated for January; Delay Disappoints Conservatives
The senate announced that it would hold judiciary committee confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito by Monday, January 29. The President, and some Christian conservative groups expressed disappointment with the delay.
The senate announced that it would hold judiciary committee confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito by Monday, Jan. 29. The President and some Christian conservative groups expressed disappointment with the delay.
“I’m disappointed in the date but happy they do have a firm date for his confirmation hearing,” said President Bush from Argentina, where he is in a 34-nation Summit of the Americas, according to the Associated Press.
From the date of Alito's nomination until the beginning of the hearings would take 70 days. The president had previously indicated that he wanted have his nominee confirmed before the end of 2005.
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Senators on the judiciary committee said that such a timeline was not realistic, considering that there were too many documents to review on the judge before that time.
“It just couldn’t be done,” said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). He said meeting the request was not possible.
“We have to do it right. We can’t do it fast,” he told AP.
Still, White House Spokesman Stephen Schmidt said that it is satisfied with the schedule, saying that Sen. Specter “conducted hearings that were fair and dignified for Chief Justice John Roberts.”
“We’re gratified that he’s again leading this process in the Senate and are very pleased that there seems to be bipartisan momentum gathering for a vote on Jan. 20,” said Schmidt.
Justices currently serving in the Supreme Court such as Stephen Breyer waited 73 days between his nomination and confirmation. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was began her hearings in 28 days in 1993. This year Chief Justice John Roberts was confirmed within 72 days.
"We are at a loss to understand why stalling tactics have been employed against Judge Alito's nomination,” said Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council. “This does not reflect President Bush's expressed hopes for final confirmation by the end of the year.”
“It appears that partisan stalling tactics have triumphed over a fair and timely confirmation process,” he added, saying that Alito deserved the same due process as previous nominees.
Jay Sekulow, the chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, said that the timing is “later than we had hoped.” He indicated that he would be meeting within some members of the judiciary committee to discuss the nomination.
“I am optimistic that even with the delay in the hearing, things are still moving at a good pace. Our legal research team is continuing to review the opinions of Judge Alito. We are very encouraged with what we are finding, specifically in the areas of religious liberty, free speech and cases relating to the abortion issue.
