Theodore Olson
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Theodore Bevry Olson
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| In office June 11, 2001 – July 10, 2004 |
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| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Seth P. Waxman |
| Succeeded by | Paul D. Clement |
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| Born | September 11, 1940 Chicago, Illinois |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | University of the Pacific UC Berkeley School of Law |
Theodore Bevry Olson (born September 11, 1940) was the 42nd United States Solicitor General, serving from June 2001 to July 2004.
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[edit] Early life
Although he was born in Chicago, Theodore Olson grew up Mountain View, California. He graduated from Los Altos High in 1958, completed his undergraduate degree at the University of the Pacific, and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley.[1]
[edit] Legal career
After earning his law degree from Boalt Hall at the University of California, Berkeley, he worked as an associate and a partner in the Los Angeles, California office of the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. He then served as an Assistant Attorney General (Office of Legal Counsel) in the Reagan administration[2] before returning to private practice as a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of his former law firm. While serving in the Reagan administration, Olson defended President Reagan during the Iran-Contra affair.[2]
Olson gained notability by acting as attorney for convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard while he was in private practice. Olson had appealed to United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit claiming that during Pollard's trial, the life sentence he received was in violation of the plea bargain agreement, which had specifically taken life off the table. Olson also argued that the violation of said plea bargain was grounds for a mistrial. The Court of Appeals, in a panel of three judges, voted 2-1 that no grounds existed for a mistrial. Future Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg cast one of the two votes against Pollard's motion.
Olson argued a dozen cases before the Supreme Court prior to becoming Solicitor General;[3] in one case, he argued against federal sentencing guidelines, and in a case in New York state, he defended a member of the press who had first leaked the Anita Hill story.[2] Olson successfully represented presidential candidate George W. Bush in the Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore, which effectively determined the final result of the contested 2000 Presidential election.
He was nominated to the Office of Solicitor General by President Bush on February 14, 2001, was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 24, 2001, and took office on June 11, 2001. In July 2004, Olson retired as Solicitor General and returned to private practice at the Washington office of Gibson Dunn. Bush nominated Paul Clement to be Olson's successor, and he was confirmed to the position by the United States Senate.
In 2006, Olson participated in the civil case filed by falsely accused spy Wen Ho Lee and appealed to the Supreme Court.[4] Lee sued the federal government to discover which public officials had named him as a suspect to journalists before he had been charged.[4] Olson wrote a brief on behalf of one of the journalists involved in the case, saying that journalists should not have to give their confidential sources over to the court, even if subpoenaed.[4]
In 2009, Olson joined with David Boies, his previous adversary in Bush v. Gore, bringing a federal lawsuit in an attempt to overturn Proposition 8, a California state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.[5]
[edit] Personal life
Olson's third wife[citation needed], Barbara K. Olson, was a passenger on the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 (his 61st birthday). The following year Olson met Lady Booth, a tax attorney and native of Kentucky, and the two were married on October 21, 2006 in Napa County, California.[6]
[edit] Politics
Olson was present at the first meeting of the Federalist Society.[7] He has served on the board of directors of American Spectator magazine.[8]
Olson was a prominent critic of Bill Clinton's presidency, and he helped prepare the attorneys of Paula Jones prior to their Supreme Court appearance.[2] Olson's wife Booth has described herself as a registered Democrat. She has contributed to the campaigns of Barack Obama and Rudy Giuliani. Olson served Giuliani's 2008 presidential campaign as judicial committee chairman.[7]
In 2009, Olson joined with David Boies, the attorney who had represented Gore in Bush v. Gore, to file a lawsuit in U.S. federal court to force federal recognition of same-sex marriage. "This is a federal question," Olson said. "This is about the rights of individuals to be treated equally and not be stigmatized." He said that he and Boies "wanted to be a symbol of the fact that this not a conservative or a liberal issue. We want to send a signal that this is an important constitutional issue involving equal rights for all Americans."[9]
[edit] Executive appointment speculation
Prior to President Bush's nomination of D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge John Roberts, Olson was considered a potential nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States to fill Sandra Day O'Connor's post. Following the withdrawal of Harriet Miers' nomination for that post, and prior to the nomination of Third Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Samuel Alito, Olson's name was again mentioned as a possible nominee.
In September 2007, Olson was considered by the Bush administration for the post of Attorney General to succeed Alberto Gonzales. However, the Democratic response was so strongly negative that Bush chose to nominate Michael Mukasey instead.[10]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Theordore Olson, NY Times
- ^ a b c d Tapper, Jake (November 19, 2000). "Boies vs. Olson". Salon. http://archive.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/11/19/lawyers/index.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
- ^ Conason, Bill (February 6, 2001). "Ted Olson? You've got to be kidding". Salon. http://archive.salon.com/politics/feature/2001/02/06/olson/print.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
- ^ a b c Mears, Bill (May 22, 2006). "Deal in Wen Ho Lee case may be imminent". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/05/22/scotus.wenholee/. Retrieved on 2008-11-07.
- ^ Williams, Carol J. (2009-05-26). "Bush vs. Gore rivals challenge Prop. 8 in federal court". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/05/bush-v-gore-rivals-challenge-prop-8-in-federal-court.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-26.
- ^ "Napa Nuptials for Olson and His Lady". 2006-10-22. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/22/AR2006102200052.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.
- ^ a b "Giuliani hitches star to conservative legal group". Chicago Tribune. 2007-09-06. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-070905giuliani,0,1519010.story. Retrieved on 2008-10-27.
- ^ "American Spectator audit: Is the fox guarding the henhouse?". Salon. 1998-04-24. http://archive.salon.com/news/1998/04/27news.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
- ^ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/05/26/state/n161614D94.DTL
- ^ "Behind the slander". 2007-09-18. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/op-ed/editorial2/20070918-9999-lz1ed18bottom.html. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
[edit] Further source
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Theodore Olson |
- Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher profile
- Dept. of Justice biography
- Campaign contributions made by Theodore Olson
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by Seth P. Waxman |
Solicitor General 2001–2004 |
Succeeded by Paul Clement |
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