After weeks of suspense — and considerable vitriol from the blogosphere — the date has been set: outgoing Law School Dean Harold Hongju Koh will appear in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for his confirmation hearing.

Since the White House announced in late March that Koh would been nominated to the position of legal adviser to the Department of State, conservative bloggers have fiercely criticized the nomination. In particular, the debate has centered around a report — the accuracy of which is being contested — that the Koh made comments in favor of the use of Shariah law in U.S. courts at a 2007 dinner for Yale alumni.

Most recently, Kenneth Starr — whose report on the Monica Lewinsky scandal paved the way for the impeachment of President Bill Clinton LAW ’73 — announced his support for Koh at a speech at the Yale Law School, arguing that the Senate should defer to the president’s nominations.

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, with Sen. John Kerry ’66 presiding, will hold a hearing on Koh’s nomination at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.