It’s opening statement time, and we can expect each side to follow the unwritten rules. The nominee and his or her supporters want to emphasize biography as much as possible; they want the public to think of the person as a particularly inspiring Oprah guest or a subject for a made-for-TV movie. For example, Patrick Leahy calls Sotomayor’s life and career “a truly American story.”
The opposition party won’t want to come out as openly hostile, so they’ll offer a few pro forma sentences praising the nominee’s achievements and then move on to the “serious questions” or “troubling questions” that must be resolved, before pivoting into a monologue about the importance of the court (as if any of us needed reminding) and the gravity of the duties before the committee on this day and in the coming days.
By the way, in their respective confirmation hearings, Justices Roberts, Alito, and Ginsburg all had four days of hearings; Breyer was finished in three.