A key Democrat said on Sunday that he expects the full Republican-led Senate to vote on U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito without the threat of a Democratic filibuster, reported Reuters. But Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware said a decision would not be made about such a possible procedural roadblock until more lawmakers meet with President George W. Bush's conservative nominee to the nation's highest court. "My instinct is we should commit" to an up-or-down vote by the full Senate, said Biden, a member of the Judiciary Committee. "I think the probability is that will happen. "I think that judgment won't be made ... until the bulk of us have had a chance to actually see him and speak to him," Biden told ABC's "This Week." The committee is set to begin a confirmation hearing on Alito, a federal appeals judge the past 15 years, on Jan. 9. If confirmed, Alito would replace the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor, a moderate conservative who has often been the swing vote on the nine-member court on abortion and other social issues. --More 2252 Local Time 1952 GMT
