Theodore Olson
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Theodore Bevry Olson (born September 11, 1940) was the 42nd United States Solicitor General, serving from June 2001 to July 2004.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Olson completed his undergraduate degree at the University of the Pacific. After earning his law degree from Boalt Hall at the University of California, Berkeley, he served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Reagan administration and then entered private practice as a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
From 1986-1988, Olson was investigated by Independent Counsel Alexia Morrison. He challenged the constitutionality of the special prosecutor's office, arguing that it was in effect an unchecked fourth branch of the federal government, but the Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality in Morrison v. Olson.
Olson represented George W. Bush in the case Bush v. Gore, which ended the contested the 2000 Presidential election.
He was nominated to the Office of Solicitor General by President Bush on February 14, 2001, confirmed by the United States Senate on May 24, 2001, and took office on June 11, 2001.
Olson's wife, Barbara K. Olson, was a passenger on the hijacked aircraft that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
Olson is considered on the short list of candidates to be nominated for appointment to the United States Supreme Court by George W. Bush, should there be a vacancy.
External links
- Dept. of Justice biography (http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/aboutosg/t_olson_bio.htm)