KRT CampusTheodore Olson, former Solicitor General of the United States, will be the keynote speaker at the School of Law’s 2005 Tyrrell Williams Lecture. Now a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Olson will discuss his experience serving as the nation’s chief legal advocate when cases were argued before the Supreme Court. Olson may soon find himself on the other side of the Supreme Court bench as his extensive background in law has made him a leading candidate for the potential opening for a new Supreme Court justice.
“He supervised all cases, but he personally argued the most important ones,”said School of Law Professor Ronald Levin of Olson’s work as Solicitor General.Olson argued 41 cases before the Court, including Bush v. Gore and Bush v.Palm Beach County Canvassing Board. He served as Bush’s head lawyer for thecase.
President Bush appointed Olson in June 2001 and he served as Solicitor General until July 2004. After the Sept. 11 attacks, Olson became enormously active in the Bush Administration’s legal campaign against terrorism. Olson’s participation in the fight against terrorism had a tragic personal aspect: His wife, Barbara Olson, was killed on Sept. 11 when her jetliner flew into the Pentagon.
While serving from 2001 until 2004, Olson handled both state and federal court cases. At the federal level, his cases tackled issues ranging from Constitutional Amendments to the constitutionality of single sex colleges to affirmative action issues.
Between 1981 and 1984, Olson served as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Council under President Ronald Reagan, according to his biography on the Department of Justice Web site. Recently, Olson has gained public attention as a leading potential nominee for the position of Supreme Court Justice. Although no one can be certain who President Bush will nominate, Levin noted that Olson is in the running for the position but is not a certain choice.
“As far as we know there are a number of people under consideration…he’s maybe in a group of twelve,” Levin said.
Levin also explained that although many expect the resignation of one or more justices in the near future, no one can predict exactly how and when it will occur.
“What usually happens is that the Justice who is planning to retire announceshis resignation on the last day of the court term,” Levin said.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist has been suffering from thyroid cancer and news sources have speculated it will force him to retire when this term ends in late June.At the moment, it is uncertain who will replace him as Chief Justice, although it is thought that the two most adamant conservatives, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas,are the most likely, according to CNN.com.
Olson will speak tomorrow at 4 p.m. in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom in Anheuser-Busch Hall. William Webster, former director of the FBI and CIA, will introduce Olson. Webster is a graduate of the University’s law school and a personal friend of Olson. According to School of Law Professor Peter Wiedenbeck, Webster was instrumental in bringing Olson to campus.
The lecture is part of the Public Interest Law Speakers Series entitled, “Access to Justice: The Social Responsibility of Lawyers” held at the School of Law.