[JURIST] US Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] chairman Arlen Specter Sunday acknowledged that a "heavy sense of drama" surrounded the Supreme Court confirmation hearings [official notice] for Judge Samuel Alito [JURIST news archive], set to begin Monday. In a statement prepared for delivery at the opening of the first session, Specter promised that the process, expected to last through Thursday, "will give Judge Alito a full opportunity to address the issues of concern." Earlier on Sunday Specter said in a CBS television interview [PDF] that he would be asking the nominee about his jurisprudential approach to executive powers issues arising out of the President's now-disclosed warrantless surveillance program [JURIST news archive], and also anticipated questions to Alito about a woman's right to choose. On the latter, however, Spcter admitted "He's not going to say how he's going to vote if Roe comes up, and I don't think he should say that." Reuters has more.

[JURIST] US military commission proceedings against two of a handful of charged prisoners at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive], originally scheduled to restart Tuesday, have been pushed back to Wednesday in recognition of the the Feast of the Sacrifice, a Muslim holy day. Canadian Omar Khadr [US DOD chargesheet, PDF; DOD press release] will face his second commission hearing on his conspiracy and attempted murder charges, and Yemeni citizen Ali Hamza Bahlul [US DOD chargesheet, PDF; DOD press release], alleged to have produced al-Queda propoganda videos, will have an administrative hearing. The commission proceeding against Australian detainee David Hicks [JURIST news archive; advocacy website] has been stayed [JURIST report] pending a US Supreme Court decision in the case of Hamdan v. Rumsfield [JURIST report] on the constitutionality of the US military commission process. The Miami Herald has more.

[JURIST] US Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website] said [transcript, PDF] Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation program that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile] has been invited to testify as the main spokesperson for administration when the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] holds open hearings in early Feburary on the Bush administration's warrantless surveilance program [JURIST news archive]. Gonzales was White House counsel when the program was first implemented. AP has more.

[JURIST] Attorneys for a number of hunger strikers at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] have filed a petition in a California court to force the state medical ethics board to investigate Dr. John S. Edmondson, chief medical officer at the prison, for alleged unprofessional conduct for allowing the forced insertion of feeding tubes. The prisoners contend that the procedure is used as a form of torture, and as a member of the American Medical Association Edmondson is claimed to be in violation of Article 5 of the 1975 World Medical Association Tokyo Declaration [text], which prohibits physicians from subjecting patients to inhumane treatment. While Edmondson has acknowledged in court papers filed in another case that the procedure can be accompanied by painful side effects including vomiting, he has denied accusations that the tubes are used as a form of punishment [JURIST report]. In July, the US Army Surgeon-General concluded after an investigation that there was no systematic medical abuse of detainees [JURIST report] at Guantanamo Bay. A hearing in the Edmundson case is expected next week. The Observer has more.

[JURIST] A British law firm has been linked to the ongoing investigation into the illegal activities of former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff [JURIST news archive]. A former partner at London-based James & Sarch, now defunct, allegedly channeled $1 million from Russian oil executives to the public advocacy group US Family Network [Washington Post report], also now defunct, largely funded by Abramoff-associated groups. The payment, made in a single check, was the largest payment recorded on the Network's books. According to the former president of the fund, the executives contributed money in 1998 to influence Republican Congressman Tom DeLay's vote on legislation that would bail out the then-collapsing Russian economy. DeLay and Abramoff met with the Russian executives before and after the payment, but DeLay has insisted that he took decisions on appropriate grounds. Abramoff pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to fraud, conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud charges last week, and has negotiated a plea agreement [PDF] with federal prosecutors to reduce his punishment in exchange for favorable testimony in future corruption case against members of Congress. From London, the Telegraph has more.

[JURIST] The US Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] in Atlanta, Georgia has reinstated a $55 million verdict against two former Salvadoran generals for allowing torture and other human rights violations to occur during the El Salvadoran civil war. In March, the court tossed out [JURIST report] the jury award against Gens. Carlos Eugenion Vides Casanova and Jose Guillermo Garcia, finding that victims in the case failed to file the lawsuit before the 10-year statute of limitations outlined in the 1991 Torture Victim Protection Act [text] expired. In its decision [PDF; CJA case backgrounder], the court found that "extraordinary circumstances" did in fact exist that prevented the plaintiffs from filing suit. Attorneys for the generals said they will file an appeal. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase:

• US jury finds ex-Salvadoran colonel liable for murder, awards $2 million
• Former El Salvador military officer faces US torture lawsuit

[JURIST] Officials in New Orleans have agreed to temporarily halt the scheduled demolition of thousands of private homes severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] until a federal judge decides if he will hear a legal challenge. Community activists originally filed a lawsuit in state court to block the destruction of nearly 5,500 homes, arguing that some homeowners have not received proper notice; the complainants are now trying to shift the case to federal court. Opponents of the plan, including the National Urban League [official website], question the city's intent and suggest that the demolition will push out poor black residents and destroy neighborhoods [AP report] most heavily damaged by the storm. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin [official website] insists that the city does not intend to displace citizens, but must destroy any structure that poses an "imminent threat to public safety". A hearing on removal of the case to federal court is scheduled for January 19. AP has more.