The Senate is scheduled to vote on Griffith's nomination when it returns Monday evening and is expected to confirm him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, widely regarded as the second-most-powerful court in the country after the Supreme Court.

“Tom is an outstanding lawyer with impeccable integrity, and I am confident the Senate will confirm him Monday,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a friend and supporter of Griffith's nomination.

The vote will come after months of delays, as Democrats, most notably Sen. Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, challenged Griffith over a lapsed D.C. law license and his failure to get a Utah law license after taking the job at BYU.

At his hearing, Griffith said the D.C. lapse was an oversight on his part that he corrected. He argued that under Utah's rules, general counsels are not required to obtain a law license if they work closely with lawyers licensed to practice in the state.

Bush originally nominated Griffith in May 2004, but Hatch was unable to cajole his colleagues into a confirmation vote before Congress adjourned for the year.

The president resubmitted the nomination last February and Griffith made it through committee in April despite continued objections from some Democrats. But a floor vote was stalled as senators fought over Democrats' use of the filibuster to block several appellate court nominees other than Griffith.

A compromise that broke the logjam was struck late last month and the Senate has moved quickly since then to confirm some agreed-upon judges.