WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito has received a "well qualified" rating from the American Bar Association.
The ABA Wednesday said its 15-member Standing committee voted unanimously, with one recusal, to give Alito the group's highest rating.
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is set to convene hearings on Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court Tuesday. President George Bush selected Alito to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who said in July she wished to retire.
Abortion rights activists, environmental rights supporters and minority groups have expressed concern about Alito's nomination based on his previous writing.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, in what the party described as a nationally distributed op-ed article, said, "There are simply too many writings in Judge Alito's record currying favor with the extreme right which show a willingness to favor government power over individual liberties."
