There are literally hundreds of cases a month where someone files a cert. petition and the government doesn't respond. I doubt that the Solicitor General herself, as opposed to some low-level lawyer in her office, reviews every single one of them.
That wouldn't fly. Ultimately, the Solicitor General's name gets placed on the Supreme court docket as we see below in this example. Delegated authority is no excuse or is it excepted to shirk accountability.
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| No. 09-724 | ||||
| Title: |
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| Docketed: | December 22, 2009 | |||
| Lower Ct: | United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit |
| Case Nos.: | (08-1977) |
| Decision Date: | August 5, 2009 |
| Rehearing Denied: | October 6, 2009 |
| ~~~Date~~~ | ~~~~~~~Proceedings and Orders~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| Dec 16 2009 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 21, 2010) |
| Jan 11 2010 | Order extending time to file response to petition to and including February 22, 2010. |
| Feb 17 2010 | Order further extending time to file response to petition to and including March 24, 2010. |
| Mar 24 2010 | Brief of respondents Federal Election Commission, et al. filed. |
| Apr 2 2010 | Reply of petitioner The Real Truth About Obama, Inc. filed. |
| Apr 7 2010 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of April 23, 2010. |
| Apr 26 2010 | Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further consideration in light of Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm'n, 558 U.S. ___ (2010) and the Solicitor General's suggestion of mootness. |
| May 28 2010 | JUDGMENT ISSUED. |
| ~~Name~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | ~~~~~~~Address~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | ~~Phone~~~ |
| Attorneys for Petitioner: | ||
| James Bopp Jr. | Bopp, Coleson & Bostrom | (812) 232-2434 |
| 1 South Sixth Street | ||
| Terre Haute, IN 47807-3510 | ||
| jboppjr@aol.com | ||
| Party name: The Real Truth About Obama, Inc. | ||
| Attorneys for Respondents: | ||
| Elena Kagan | Solicitor General | (202) 514-2217 |
| United States Department of Justice | ||
| 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. | ||
| Washington, DC 20530-0001 | ||
| SupremeCtBriefs@USDOJ.gov | ||
| Party name: Federal Election Commission, et al. | ||