[JURIST] US Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Democrat Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) [official website] announced during a speech [text] at the Georgetown University Law Center Thursday that he intends to vote against the nomination of Samuel Alito [JURIST news archive] to the Supreme Court, citing Alito's expansive views on presidential power. "Based on his record, I'm concerned that Judge Alito will not be willing to stand up to a president who is determined to seize too much power over our personal lives," said Leahy, in an address otherwise focused on the Bush administration's authorization of questionable domestic surveillance tactics [JURIST news archive], such as warrantless wiretaps [JURIST report]. The remaining Democrats on the Judiciary Committee [official website], including Sen. Richard Durbin (R-IL) [official website], who is expected to announce his opposition to Alito's nomination Thursday during a speech to the Northwestern Law School and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) [official website], are expected to vote against Alito, except Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) [official website], who has announced his support [JURIST report] for the nominee. The final committee vote has been pushed back to Jan. 24 [JURIST report], where Alito is widely expected to be confirmed, and a Democratic filibuster is unlikely [JURIST report]. CNN has more.