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Prior to his confirmation hearings, then-Judge John Roberts had a conversation with our Senator Ron Wyden. While they didn't discuss the Death With Dignity law directly, he seemed to indicate that he would look favorably upon it. Of course, earlier today Roberts voted with Justices Scalia and Thomas in a dissent against upholding it. A look back to August 10, 2005: Supreme Court nominee John Roberts declared that, in cases dealing with end-of-life care, he would "start with the supposition that one has the right to be left alone," Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said after the two met for an...

Alito Hearings: The confirmation hearings on Judge Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court were striking for their dissimilarity from last year's confirmation hearings for Chief Justice John Roberts. 1) Alito lacked the rhetorical polish of Roberts, but matched his intellectual rigor. His style was earthy and solid, well suited to his career as an appeals judge who has labored in the trenches for 15 years. His calm explanations of the law were dull at times, but for the most part, he was clear and he did not equivocate. 2) Alito went well beyond the minimum requirements of the so-called...

During the John Roberts confirmation hearing it became clear that the Senators from both parties were not interested in the nominees views on matters as much as they were in love with the sound of their own voice. So we did something that was highly popular. We did a statistical analysis of the percentage of words spoken by each Senator compared with the number of words spoken by the nominee. We found that in nearly every case the Senators spoke far more than the nominees. So, by popular demand we have done the same thing for the Alito hearings. And...

WASHINGTON -- Paris Hilton's name made John Roberts' Supreme Court nomination a bit sexier Thursday. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., interrupted the Judiciary Committee's somber discussion of constitutional matters with the suggestion that a recent case involving the hotel heiress should serve as a precedent for protecting the Senate panel's stolen records. Last year, Republican staffers were caught snooping through Democratic computer files, some of which outlined strategy for blocking Bush's judicial nominees. A world away, Hilton — whose sex video with an ex-boyfriend became a cyberspace novelty — was the victim of a teenage hacker who broke into T-Mobile's computer...

Just heard that there is a suspicious package in, I believe, the hall just used for the confirmation hearings. Anybody else?

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has the first crack at approving President Bush's new Supreme Court nominee, indicated Wednesday he is aiming toward holding confirmation hearings in September. September is the "preferable time" to open hearings on Judge John Roberts, said Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican. Bush nominated the conservative Roberts Tuesday night, beginning what's certain to be a tough political battle. Conservative and liberal groups almost immediately jumped into action, with abortion rights a central issue. "If Roberts is confirmed to a lifetime appointment, there is little doubt that he will work...