The Solicitor General and Presidential Arguments to the Supreme Court

June 21st, 2015

WaPo interviews Ted Olson, who said he would “not have wanted” President Bush to talk to the Justices:

“When I was solicitor general, I would not have wanted President Bush to be saying things like that, one way or another, about the Supreme Court or the decisions it was making,” said Theodore B. Olson, who served as solicitor general under George W. Bush and is now a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Washington.

One angle that I didn’t explore in my National Constitution Center article, but will dive into in the book, is how these presidential comments affect the role of the Solicitor General. The SG serves as a unique bridge between the judiciary and the Executive Branch, and these arguments may undermine that relationship.