Editing Theodore Olson (section)

===Later legal career: After 2001===
[[File:Theodore Olson - 2010 - David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|Olson in 2010]]Olson was nominated for the office of [[Solicitor General]] by [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] on February 14, 2001. He was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on May 24, 2001, and took office on June 11, 2001. In 2002, Olson argued for the federal government in the Supreme Court case ''Christopher v. Harbury'' (536 U.S. 403), in which Supreme Court agreed with Olson's position in its unanimous opinion written by [[Justice Souter]]. Olson maintained that the government had an inherent right to lie: "There are lots of different situations where the government quite legitimately may have reasons to give false information out."<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 7, 2002|title=Still Searching|url=https://www.texasobserver.org/747-still-searching-jennifer-harbury-takes-her-ten-year-odyssey-for-justice-to-the-supreme-court/|access-date=March 7, 2021|website=The Texas Observer|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Greenhouse|first=Linda|date=March 19, 2002|title=Widow Argues for Right to Sue Officials (Published 2002)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/19/us/widow-argues-for-right-to-sue-officials.html|access-date=March 7, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Supreme Court: Harbury Case|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1140129|access-date=March 7, 2021|website=NPR.org|language=en}}</ref>

In July 2004, Olson retired as Solicitor General and returned to private practice at the Washington office of Gibson Dunn. In 2006, Olson represented a defendant journalist in the civil case filed by [[Wen Ho Lee]] and pursued the appeal to the Supreme Court.<ref name="wen ho lee">{{cite news |last=Mears |first=Bill |title=Deal in Wen Ho Lee Case May Be Imminent |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=May 22, 2006 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/05/22/scotus.wenholee/ |access-date=November 7, 2008}}</ref> Lee sued the federal government to discover which public officials had named him as a suspect to journalists before he had been charged.<ref name="wen ho lee"/> Olson wrote a brief on behalf of one of the journalists involved in the case, saying that journalists should not have to identify confidential sources, even if [[subpoena]]ed by a court.<ref name="wen ho lee"/> In 2011, Olson represented the [[National Football League Players Association]] in the [[2011 NFL lockout]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Kuriloff|first=Aaron|title=Players' Lawyer Ted Olson Calls NFL Lockout Abuse of Monopoly|publisher=[[Bloomberg News]]|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-05-06/nfl-players-lawyer-ted-olson-calls-lockout-by-league-an-abuse-of-monopoly|date=May 6, 2011|access-date=June 24, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Breer|first=Albert|title=NFL, players state lockout cases; court to rule in 'due course'|work=[[National Football League|NFL.com]]|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-players-state-lockout-cases-court-to-rule-in-due-course-09000d5d82026709|date=June 3, 2011|access-date=June 24, 2015}}</ref>

In 2009, Olson joined with President Bill Clinton's former attorney [[David Boies]], who was also his opposing counsel in ''Bush v. Gore'', to bring a federal lawsuit, ''[[Perry v. Schwarzenegger]]'', challenging [[California Proposition 8 (2008)|Proposition 8]], a California state constitutional amendment banning [[same-sex marriage]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/05/bush-v-gore-rivals-challenge-prop-8-in-federal-court.html |title=Bush vs. Gore Rivals Challenge Prop.&nbsp;8 in Federal Court |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |last=Williams |first=Carol J. |date=May 26, 2009 |access-date=May 26, 2009}}</ref> His work on the lawsuit earned him a place among the [[Time 100]]'s greatest thinkers.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984685_1984745_1985481,00.html#ixzz0mVlpQaeO |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502132941/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984685_1984745_1985481,00.html#ixzz0mVlpQaeO |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 2, 2010 |title=David Boies and Theodore Olson |department=The 2010 Time 100 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |last=Klein |first=Joe  |author-link=Joe Klein |date=April 29, 2010 |access-date=May 1, 2010}}</ref> In 2010, Olson and [[Floyd Abrams]] argued in favor of the [[Citizens United v. FEC|Citizens United vs FEC]] case before the Supreme Court, which granted corporations the same free speech rights as individuals, and allowed unlimited corporate spending in elections. In 2011, Olson and David Boies were awarded the [[ABA Medal]], the highest award of the [[American Bar Association]].<ref>{{cite press release |first=Patricia |last=Gaul |title=David Boies, Theodore B. Olson to Receive American Bar Association Medal for 2011 |url=http://www.abanow.org/2011/07/david-boies-theodore-b-olson-to-receive-american-bar-association-medal-for-2011/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320111416/http://www.abanow.org/2011/07/david-boies-theodore-b-olson-to-receive-american-bar-association-medal-for-2011/ |archive-date=March 20, 2012 |access-date=September 6, 2011 |publisher=[[American Bar Association]]}}</ref> In 2014, Olson received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] presented by Awards Council member [[Brendan Sullivan (lawyer)|Brendan V. Sullivan, Jr.]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#public-service}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=2014 Summit Highlights Photo |url=https://achievement.org/summit/2014/|quote=Eminent defense counsels and Academy members Brendan Sullivan, David Boies, Ted Olson and Barry Scheck.}}</ref>

[[Apple Inc.]] hired Olson to fight the [[FBI–Apple encryption dispute]] court order to unlock an [[iPhone]], which ended with the government withdrawing its case.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Maura|last1=Dolan|first2=Victoria|last2=Kim|url=http://www.latimes.com/business/la-me-fbi-apple-legal-20160219-story.html|title=Apple-FBI fight over iPhone encryption pits privacy against national security|work=Los Angeles Times|date=February 18, 2016|access-date=February 20, 2016}}</ref> Olson also represented [[New England Patriots]] quarterback [[Tom Brady]] in the [[Deflategate]] scandal,<ref>{{cite web|title=Ted Olson Sees Glimmer of Hope For Tom Brady Appeal|url=http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/05/25/deflategate-tom-brady-lawyer-ted-olson-sees-hope-for-rehearing/|website=CBS|date=May 25, 2016|access-date=June 7, 2016}}</ref> which ended with Brady electing not to pursue Supreme Court appeal of a four-game suspension.<ref>{{cite news|last=Orr|first=Conor|title=Tom Brady won't further pursue suspension appeal|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/tom-brady-won-t-further-pursue-suspension-appeal-0ap3000000674937|publisher=National Football League|date=July 15, 2016|access-date=July 15, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Reyes|first=Lorenzo|title=Tom Brady announces he won't fight Deflategate suspension further in court|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/patriots/2016/07/15/tom-brady-deflategate-suspension-new-england/87134710/|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=July 15, 2016|access-date=July 15, 2016}}</ref> In 2017, Olson represented a group of billboard advertisers in a lawsuit against the City of [[San Francisco]]. The group challenged a city law requiring soda companies to include in their advertisements warnings that consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with serious health risks like [[diabetes]]. The suit claimed that the law is an unconstitutional restriction on commercial speech. In September 2017, a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Olson and provisionally barred the city's mandated warnings.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2017/09/19/16-16072.pdf| title=United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit| access-date=June 16, 2024}}</ref>

In March 2018, Olson turned down an offer to represent [[Donald Trump]] in the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-legal-team-seeks-to-add-gravitas-with-offer-to-star-gop-attorney-theodore-b-olson/2018/03/20/571f1e46-2c41-11e8-8ad6-fbc50284fce8_story.html|title=Star GOP lawyer Theodore B. Olson declines offer to join Trump legal team|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> In November 2019, Olson represented the [[DACA]] recipients in the Supreme court case ''[[Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/26/us/politics/theodore-olson-dreamers-supreme-court.html |title=Theodore Olson, Conservative Stalwart, to Represent 'Dreamers' in Supreme Court |website=New York Times |date=September 26, 2019 |last1=Liptak |first1=Adam}}</ref> On June 18, the Supreme Court upheld the program due to the failure of the Trump administration to follow the [[Administrative Procedure Act (United States)|Administrative Procedure Act]] while rescinding DACA. Olson was solicitor general during the [[9/11 terrorist attacks]], and his wife died on board the plane that was used to crash into [[the Pentagon]]. In 2023, Olson wrote in an [[op-ed]] that the U.S. should conclude the criminal cases of the remaining defendants. Citing the complicated nature of [[death penalty]] cases, as well as the fact that many of the convictions already secured had been partially or fully overturn by appeals courts, he publicly encouraged the government to offer sentences of life in prison.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Olson |first=Theodore B. |title=Opinion {{!}} The U.S. Must Resolve the Cases of the Guantanamo Detainees |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-u-s-must-resolve-the-cases-of-the-guantanamo-detainees-terrorist-attack-court-justice-911-defendants-11675349137 |access-date=February 21, 2023 |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=February 2, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=NEW VOICES: Ted Olson, Solicitor General in the Bush Administration, Calls for End to Guantánamo Death Penalty Cases |url=https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/new-voices-ted-olson-solicitor-general-in-the-bush-administration-calls-for-end-to-guantánamo-death-penalty-cases |access-date=February 21, 2023 |website=Death Penalty Information Center |language=en-US}}</ref>