Samuel Alito

In the first day of weeklong confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., told Judge Samuel Alito to expect tough questioning, saying the record of the U.S. Supreme Court nominee "troubles me deeply."

Eighteen committee members gave their opening statements, followed by a statement by Alito. Questioning will begin tomorrow.

Kennedy pointed to controversy over President Bush's decision to order the National Security Agency to wiretap conversations between terrorists overseas and citizens in the U.S.

"In an era when the White House is abusing power, is excusing and authorizing torture, and is spying on American citizens, I find Judge Alito's support for an all-powerful executive branch to be genuinely troubling," Kennedy said.

The Massachusetts senator said Alito "has excused abusive actions by authorities that intrude on privacy and freedom of average Americans."

The judge, Kennedy said, has acted in favor of government, large corporations and powerful forces.

"Average Americans have had a hard time getting a fair shake in his court room," said Kennedy.

Kennedy was followed by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who noted, to laughter, that his view of Alito contrasts sharply with Kennedy's.

Grassley said the judge "has a reputation for being an exceptional and honest judge devoted to the rule of law, and a man of integrity."

In his opening statement, Alito told senators good judges "always do what the law requires."

"A judge can't have any agenda," he said. "A judge can't have a preferred outcome in any particular case."

Alito also told of his personal life, including his Italian immigrant father's background, and described his legal philosophy.

"The role of a practicing attorney is to achieve a desirable result for the client in the particular case at hand," he said. "But a judge can't think that way. A judge can't have any agenda, a judge can't have any preferred outcome in any particular case and a judge certainly doesn't have a client."

Alito said his obligation is to the rule of law.

"No person in this country, no matter how high or powerful, is above the law, and no person in this country is beneath the law," he said.

Earlier, Alito, introduced his wife, Martha, sister Rosemary and his son and daughter.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said in his opening statement Alito's numerous rulings as a judge make it easy for extremists on both sides to cast him as a "flaming liberal or an arch conservative."

This morning, President Bush, who had breakfast with Alito in the Oval Office, called on senators to give him a fair hearing.

"The Supreme Court is a dignified body. Sam is a dignified person. And my hope, of course, is that the Senate bring dignity to the process and give this man a fair hearing and an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor," Bush said.

The president said Alito has "the intellect necessary to bring a lot of class to that court."

"He's got a judicial temperament necessary to make sure that the court is a body that interprets the law and doesn't try to write the law," Bush said.

Alito is expected to be confirmed by the full Republican-led Senate later this month, but Democrats will challenge his views on abortion and presidential war powers.

Alito has been a member of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 1990 and was a U.S. prosecutor and an attorney in the Reagan administration.

Democrats have said they might block Alito's nomination if he refuses to answer questions they deem "vital."

"If he continuously, given his previous record, refused to answer questions and hid behind 'I can't answer this because it might come before me,' it would increase the chances of a filibuster," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she would oppose the nomination if she concludes Alito would overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that rescinded all state laws banning abortion.

Abortion-rights activists say they're concerned about Alito's 1985 application essay for a job in the Reagan administration in which he said the Constitution contains no right to abortion.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has said that if the Democrats decide to filibuster, he would employ the "nuclear option" to ban the procedure, which requires a majority vote in the Republican-controlled Senate.

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