About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

3 J. App. Prac. & Process 509 (2001)
When the President Says No: A Few Thoughts on Executive Power and the Tradition of Solicitor General Independence

handle is hein.journals/jappp3 and id is 523 raw text is: WHEN THE PRESIDENT SAYS NO: A FEW THOUGHTS ON EXECUTIVE POWER AND THE TRADITION OF SOLICITOR GENERAL INDEPENDENCE Drew S. Days, III* INTRODUCTION Although the Solicitor General is appointed by the President and serves under the Attorney General, he has gradually come to enjoy a tradition of independence in carrying out his official responsibilities. He is only rarely subject to direction by either the President or the Attorney General, and as a practical matter, he is in most cases the final decisionmaker with respect to both designing a strategy for government litigation in the Supreme Court and deciding whether to appeal trial court decisions adverse to the government. On occasion, however, a President will put deference aside and involve himself directly in determining what the government's legal positions are going to be. Documented instances of such presidential involvement are rare, since most occur in the course of rather low-profile discussions within the administration that never become known to the public. Nevertheless, a few examples have received significant attention, either contemporaneously or some years afterwards, often as the result of revealing memoir accounts. In the Truman Administration, for example, the President was reportedly involved in the groundbreaking decision to authorize the government's amicus brief in Shelley v. Kraemer,' * Alfred M. Rankin Professor of Law, Yale Law School; of counsel, Morrison & Foerster LLP; Solicitor General of the United States (1993-96). 1. 334 U.S. I (1948). THE JOURNAL OF APPELLATE PRACTICE AND PROCESS Vol. 3, No. 2 (Fall 2001)

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most