Law360: Why Biden Must Tread Carefully With U-Turns In Court
March 2, 2021
O’Melveny partner and former Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben spoke with Law360 regarding the US Department of Justice’s recent position reversals on certain marquee court cases.
Dreeben told Law360 that the reversals, in which Biden administration lawyers “U-turn” and take opposite positions to those of the preceding administration, counter the Trump justice department’s “stark departure from institutional interests and historic positions.” He added, “Reversing a position like that to protect long-standing governmental interests and to revert to a sounder legal framework is not a surprise.”
In Dreeben’s view, the Biden administration must prioritize “only the most egregious or consequential” cases for reversals and ensure that future position changes are founded on legal judgements rather than political motivations.
“To the extent that the SG's office regards itself as having a duty of candor to the integrity of the law and provides changed views because it believes that is the better view of the law,” Dreeben said, “I think that would be a sound development.”
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