I read a report a while back suggesting this would not just be against tradition, it would violate Senate procedures: in other words, it would be illegal, in essence. Yes, "The Senate is arcane", etc., but I think we might yet see a real Senate challenge to this.
Ever hopeful.

The story says that only Boxer has refused to return a blue slip. Did I miss something?

I've read in other sources that Feinstein returned hers and only Boxer did not. Hatch has said that he will now hold hearings on judges when only one home-state senator returns the blue slip, which is a break with prior practice (though I don't think it violates Senate rules but rather longstanding tradition and Senatorial "courtesy"). Had Hatch followed the same approach when he chaired the Judiciary Committee during the Clinton presidency (or had the Democrats done so when they had the majority in the 103rd Congress from 1993-95), Jesse Helms would not have been able to prevent a single North Carolina nominee from ever having a hearing for a 4th Circuit appointment.

It will be interesting to see what Hatch does about Michigan, where the two Democratic senators are both pulling a Helms and refusing to return any blue slips for 6th Circuit appointees unless Bush reappoints judges that the two Senators had supported under Clinton but who never got hearings. I don't think Hatch has said that he would override both home-state senators and hold a hearing on a nominee when neither blue slip had been returned.

Also, there is the separate matter of "holds," which are anonymous and which can be used to prevent any nominee from getting a floor vote. Those don't have to be used by a home-state Senator; any of the 100 can do it. For instance, Conrad Burns of Montana blocked all 9th Circuit nominees from getting votes for about a year in the mid-90s in an attempt to force Congress to split the 9th Circuit and save Montana from all the "liberal California judges."

I should add that Sen. Leahy does a good job of laying out the history and the rules whenever the Republicans violate the latter or ignore the former--for instance, his statement at the outset of Priscilla Owens's second hearing. If you want to get a good chapter-and-verse on any particular incident, check out Leahy's website: http://leahy.senate.gov/issues/nominations/index.html

It is my understanding that Boxer refused to return the Blue Slip but that Feinstein did return hers. Thus, Hatch has backed away from the rules he favored during the Clinton administration (one failure to return a Blue slip = no cosideration of the nominee) but has complied with the postion he took in January.

As JJ points out, the rubber will meet the road with the Michigan nominees.

Perhaps pressure should be applied to Senators from every state that has two Democratic Senators to return no blue slips whatsoever as long as Bush insists on remominating the Judges previously defeated in Committee (Owen, Pickering & Estrada).

That would prevent any right-wing judges in 16 states (Ark., Cal., Conn., Del., Fla., Hawaii; La.; Md.; Mass.; Mich.; N.J.; N.Y.; S.D.; Vermont effectively; Wash.; W.Va.; and Wisc.)

And N.D. has two Dems. also.

Miguel Estrada was never defeated in committee.