WASHINGTON — Centrist senators cautioned Thursday against a rush to judgment on Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr., saying the nation would benefit from a robust but fair confirmation process.

"None of us should feel hurried to reach a decision," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.

Lieberman spoke after a closed-door meeting of the so-called "Gang of 14" that was hosted by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. The group of centrists — seven Democrats and seven Republicans — brokered a deal this year to end Senate gridlock over some of President Bush's more conservative and controversial judicial nominations.

Also Thursday, leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled hearings to begin Jan. 9, despite Bush's call for a final vote by year's end.

"It simply wasn't possible to accommodate the schedule that the White House wanted," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

He outlined a timetable with five days of hearings, followed by a vote in committee Jan. 17 and the full Senate on Jan. 20.

The White House had no immediate reaction.

With liberals and conservatives drawing battle lines over Alito, the centrists are expected to play a key role in his confirmation. Thursday's meeting attracted more than 50 reporters and staff to the hallway outside McCain's office on Capitol Hill.

Lieberman and other centrists who spoke with reporters said they affirmed their agreement to allow an up-or-down vote on

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Alito unless extraordinary circumstances are found to warrant a filibuster.

Two Republican members of the gang, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mike DeWine of Ohio, have said they will join with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., to eliminate the filibuster for judges if Democrats launch the delay tactic simply because of Alito's conservative record. Both later indicated that they would at least listen to concerns that may be raised by other centrists.

Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said that if there comes a point where members think there are "extreme circumstances," then they would again get together to discuss it.

Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said their intention is to let the system work.

"We never wanted to become some kind of rump Judiciary Committee. Our intention is to go through the process, answer hard questions and hopefully have a very rigorous but also very fair process," he said.

Lieberman said he has not formed an opinion about Alito but has concerns. Lieberman would likely join a filibuster if he were convinced Alito would vote to overturn the Supreme Court's 1972 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

"I see some things that would raise questions in my mind but they are questions," he said.

Alito was the only dissenter in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a 1991 case in which the 3rd Circuit struck down a Pennsylvania law requiring women seeking abortions to notify their spouses. But he opposed a New Jersey prohibition on partial-birth abortion in 2000.

Lieberman said it would be unrealistic to expect Bush to nominate a justice who was not conservative. The relevant factor, however, is whether the nominee is a "rigid ideologue," or someone whose judicial philosophy falls outside the mainstream.

"I think ideology is a relevant factor," he said.

Lieberman is scheduled to meet privately with Alito on Tuesday. He also plans to carefully follow the Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings, which will likely begin in January, and will pore over decisions Alito made over the past 15 years on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"There's a lot to read," Lieberman said.

The 55-year-old judge has written an estimated 300 rulings and participated in about 1,500 cases. Bush nominated Alito last week to succeed Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who is considered the pivotal vote on a court closely divided between conservative and liberal justices.

Conservative activists have come out in support of Alito while liberal activists have complained he is an extremist.

Since Monday, Alito has met with more than a dozen senators in courtesy calls, a time-honored process that involves having the nominee walk from one office to another.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.