SCOTUSblog on camera: Walter Dellinger (Part four)

Part Four: In general

“The greatest difference when you are arguing as Solicitor General is that the United States is such a repeat player, that it has such long-term institutional interests, that you don’t necessarily want to win every case at all costs because what you might argue in one case might be adverse to the government’s interest in another case.”

Serving as Solicitor General of the United States; resolving conflicts among departments about and developing the legal position of the United States; contrasting the Solicitor General’s office and the Office of Legal Counsel; engaging the president to decide the legal position of the United States; being a legal advisor in the White House; the value of political service to the independence of legal opinions, why winning Bush v. Gore made Ted Olson an effective Solicitor General and whether that idea applies to Supreme Court Justices.

(Fabrizio di Piazza)