Senate Hearings Begin for Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan

The Supreme Court confirmation hearing for nominee Elena Kagan, which begins Monday at 12:30 p.m. in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building, will look familiar to those who have followed the recent parade of High Court candidates to come before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Kagan is the fourth such candidate in five years -- Chief Justice John Roberts (2005) and Justices Samuel Alito (2006) and Sonia Sotomayor (2009) were previously trotted out before the Committee -- so its members are practiced at exercising the Senate's "advice and consent" role under the Constitution. If Kagan is confirmed, as is expected, she'll become the 112th Justice to serve on the Court -- and just its fourth woman.

Although her presence on the Court would likely not alter its ideological makeup -- she would replace liberal Justice John Paul Stevens, after all -- her confirmation would mark the first time in the Court's history that three women (Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor) would be sitting together at the same time.

But before all that, she has to endure what is expected to be a long hearing this week in hot, hazy and humid Washington. First come the introductions, Kagan's nomination will be formally presented to the Committee by Massachusetts senators John Kerry, a Democrat, and Scott Brown, the Republican who famously succeeded the late Judiciary Committee stalwart Edward M. Kennedy. Kagan went to Harvard Law School and then served as its first female dean, remember, so her roots to the Bay State are deep.

Next, the speeches. Each of the 19 members of the Committee -- 12 Democrats and 7 Republicans -- will initially get 10 minutes each to make an opening statement. That's roughly three hours of political rhetoric before the nominee is invited to join the dialogue. Sometime around 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon, she'll be sworn in by Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and then offer her own opening statement. These statements usually are kept fairly brief -- the less said the better -- and when Kagan is done the hearing will adjourn for the day.

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On Tuesday morning, we'll get to the meat-and-potatoes part of the proceedings. Each senator gets 30 minutes to question Kagan during this initial round. Some of the Committee members, especially those who favor Kagan's nomination, may not take all of their time. Most will. This round of questioning will last at least through Tuesday and into Wednesday, after which the senators will embark upon a second round of questioning and, if necessary, a third.

While Kagan is facing the music before the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee will be hosting a confirmation hearing of its own for Army Gen. David Petraeus to head Allied forces in Afghanistan. None of the members of Kagan's panel at Judiciary is a member of the panel questioning Petraeus at Armed Services so there should be no scheduling problems for the senators. Where the media focuses its attention is another matter. Kagan's question-and-answer session on Tuesday with the Committee will not receive the nation's undivided attention.

Nevertheless, the Kagan hearings will continue Wednesday and, perhaps late that day, the senators will have exhausted their questions for the nominee. When this occurs, other witnesses, for and against Kagan's candidacy, will come before the Committee and be questioned under oath about their views on the nominee. These include, from Republicans, uniformed military personnel who are expected to be critical of Kagan's controversial position on military recruitment when she was running the Harvard Law School. From Democrats, expect witnesses who will testify about Kagan's long and distinguished career as an important government lawyer.

Barring some unforeseen development, the hearing should wrap up late Thursday, giving the assembled cast an opportunity to get out of town in time for the holiday weekend. The Committee then will vote upon the Kagan nomination sometime in July. If she gets voted out of Committee it is likely the Senate would vote on her nomination before the end of July -- giving the nominee, if she makes it, a few months to prepare for the first day of the rest of her life: the first Monday in October.