Roberts Confirmation Hearings Begin Monday

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By Fred Barbash

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 6, 2005; 12:12 PM

Confirmation hearings for chief justice nominee John G. Roberts will begin Monday at noon, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said today.

Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he expects the hearings to be completed by the end of next week. He did not say when he expects the committee to vote on the nomination.

He did express confidence that a full Senate vote on Roberts would allow him, if confirmed, to take his seat before the formal opening of the court's term, Oct. 3.

Hearings for Roberts' nomination as an associate justice were originally set for today. Specter said that even before the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist on Saturday, he had received requests for a delay so that attention could be focused on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Specter said that in postponing the hearing, the committee was deferring to the Rehnquist family and others involved in the late chief justice's funeral.

Roberts Confirmation Hearings Begin Monday

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