Executive Branch Advocate v. Officer of the Court: The Solicitor General’s Ethical Dilemma

[T]he rewards of the Solicitor General\u27s job come from his being able to survey the entirety of federal government litigation throughout the United States and to control the flow of that litigation up through the lower federal courts to the Supreme Court. Once cases reach the Supreme Court, the Solicitor General plays an important role in the development of American law and can have an impact upon the establishment of constitutional and other principles that will affect our lives for years to come. This is because the Solicitor General has responsibility not only for representing the United States in the Supreme Court, but also for authorizing all appeals from federal trial courts to the courts of appeals, for all amicus filings in appellate courts, and for interventions by the government where the constitutionality of federal laws is drawn into question