The Marble Palace Blog: Kagan, Biden, Clinton and Other Friends of Walter Dellinger Pay Tribute

Thank you for reading The Marble Palace Blog, which I hope will inform and surprise you about the Supreme Court of the United States. My name is Tony Mauro. I’ve covered the Supreme Court since 1979 and for ALM since 2000. I semiretired in 2019, but I am still fascinated by the high court. I’ll welcome any tips or suggestions for topics to write about. You can reach me at [email protected].

More than 500 friends, colleagues and admirers of Walter Dellinger logged in to a virtual video memorial service on Saturday and learned more about his life, his joyful embrace of family, country music, BB King, baseball and the Constitution.

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore and Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar were among dozens who paid tribute by video.

Dellinger, a Duke Law School scholar, an O’Melveny partner and former acting solicitor general, died at the age of 80 on Feb. 16. The service also honored Dellinger’s wife, Anne, who died last year.

The video itself amounts to a glimpse of the inside workings of the law and politics as well as a celebration of a life well lived. Here are excerpts of some of the comments:

Justice Elena Kagan: “When I was nominated to be solicitor general, he was maybe the person who was most helpful to me. He came and he said, ‘I’m going to prepare you for your confirmation hearings.’ And he did a spectacular job of that. And then, he basically sort of taught me how to be solicitor general. I came without a lot of experience that some others had had, and he sat me down on more than one occasion and he taught me everything that there was to know about the job. I don’t think that I could have done it without him. … When I think about how sad I am about Walter passing, all the personal ways that I’m sad, but what most strikes me as I think, as I look around the world now, and maybe particularly the world of law, that we need those kinds of clear-eyed optimists more than ever, those people who are able to see the world for what it is, but be incredibly hopeful about what it can be.”

President Joe Biden: “I knew Walter for more than 40 years. He was there throughout the 2020 election, advising me in my campaign on how to protect the integrity of the election from the gathering threats. It is not hyperbole to say that Walter was the protector of American democracy. … He was the kind of American our founders imagined we would have leading us toward a more perfect union. He understood that democracy could be complicated and messy, but necessary, and our best hope on earth.”

Former Solicitors General Seth Waxman and Donald Verrilli who, along with Dellinger, worked together as “SG3” or the “Three Amigos” in 2020 and 2021 to stave off Trump efforts to subvert the presidential election. Waxman: “As we saw the election approach, it just seemed like that oh my God, this is potentially a really terrible situation, and we can’t waste any time. Walter’s reaction was, ‘We’re facing an existential crisis, let’s go for it!” Verrilli: “Walter was sick then, and we knew that because he had the oxygen tube on every night for every one of our calls. And yet you knew with Walter that he was fighting to preserve and protect the future of the constitution and the future of our democracy, even though he knew at the time, he wasn’t going to see very much more of it.”

President Bill Clinton: “He did a fabulous job in my administration from being part of the transition and helping me pick a new attorney general, and then a lot of judges. He led the Office of Legal Counsel with great distinction and was amazing as solicitor general. I’ll never forget the argument he made against the Texas sodomy law. It was just one example of how a man with a brilliant mind and a caring heart could use the power of law and the promise of American equality to advance the lives of all of us.”

U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar: “I feel so fortunate to have experienced Walter’s encouragement and enthusiasm. Shortly after I started this job last year, Walter and I went to lunch, where he spent hours telling me war stories and offering advice. He shared lessons based on his own approach to the job, but he also emphasized that there is no one size fits all model to being the solicitor general. And he filled me with confidence that I should do the job in my own way. Walter later followed up with a long email that was brimming with wisdom and generosity and kindness. I still have that email flagged in my inbox, and I’ve returned to Walter’s words whenever I faced a tough decision or needed a lift.”

Vice President Al Gore: “Those who were lucky enough to work with him and call him a friend were all students of Walter’s as he taught all of us how we could be better champions for the ideals on which our country was founded. And it was crystal clear through his education and mentorship of young legal minds that Walter was advocating for the soul of America for generations to come. … I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how Walter’s compassion extended to every member of his family. He especially adored the love of his life, Anne, and spent several years caring for her as her mind succumbed to dementia. Sadly, Walter lost Anne last spring.”

Brad Butwin, chair of O’Melveny & Myers, where Dellinger was a partner for more than 20 years: “I last spoke with Walter only a few days before he died. He was in great spirits and looking forward to attending the O’Melveny Partner Offsite in May, an event he never missed. At our last in-person Offsite, Walter led the finale of our annual musical show with a hip-hop number from the play Hamilton, wig and all. Playing Alexander Hamilton, Walter concluded the song by declaring, ‘I will not be forgotten.’ Walter, my friend, you certainly won’t be. We love you, miss you, thank you and are so grateful for you.”

Kerry Abrams, dean of Duke Law School: “As all of you participating today probably already know, Walter was one of the most astonishingly brilliant, compassionate, and optimistic people to have ever walked this earth. He did more for the rule of law, the civil rights of individual people, and the wellbeing of his fellow humans in any one year of his life than most people do in a lifetime. The day Walter passed away, our faculty decided to cancel our usual workshop, which Walter had been planning to attend, to gather to share our memories about him. Over and over again, faculty told their stories, each of which had a common theme. Walter had the gift for touching each individual life and making each person feel incredibly important, worthy and needed.”

Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel emeritus of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund: “Walter could be counted on always for sage advice. He was an honest broker. He could referee a dispute between two lawyers and have everyone come out fully accepting the result. We will miss him in our profession. In fact, I believe at this moment especially, we need more lawyers in our profession like Walter Dellinger, but I’m so happy that we had the opportunity to get to know him and to work with him.”

Judge Pamela Harris of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit: “The thing about Walter was that not only could he see the potential in young women lawyers, but he could magically make other people see it too. So, by the time I got to O’Melveny, he had thoroughly paved the way. He had somehow convinced everyone, not only to hire me 10 years out of law school with no litigation experience, but also to make the part-time thing work, because this was Walter’s mantra in those early days: You’d rather have Pam Harris for three days a week than anyone else for five.”

Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor at Slate: “One of the things about Walter that was amazing, is his fundamental optimism about everything. I think he genuinely believed that if a smart journalist wrote a smart thing and smart people read it, it could change the world. And that was fundamentally different from law reviews. It was fundamentally different from going to stuffy, academic or professional conferences. I just felt like the Walter assignment desk, where at five or six in the morning, he would shoot me an email and say, ‘Someone’s got to write about this.’ He didn’t come from a place of delegating responsibility. He just believed that journalism could change minds before anyone!”

James Carville, political strategist, and part of a Zoom group with Dellinger during the pandemic: “I mean he was the Willie Mays of human beings. He could do it all. He knew the law, he knew entertainment, he knew journalism, he knew politics, he knew literature. … But his greatest tool was his humanity. And the thing about Walter Dellinger, as smart as he was, as much as he knew, as accomplished as he was, there was not a whiff of coastal cultural arrogance about him. His eyes just beamed and you saw that. And boy, I got to know him.”

Hampton Dellinger, son of Walter and U.S. assistant attorney general for legal policy: “Walter’s American dream was engaging with others, always with others. He never met a stranger. He met and made a lifetime of friends. Us, we are Walter’s American dream. And as much as he was mesmerizing and incredibly entertaining for us, he was sustained and energized by us. We’re it, we’re his American dream. And I have no doubt that he is looking down and smiling on it, on us. And so I know you will join with me in doing everything we can to honor Walter by doing our best by him and by Anne. Thank you.” (An essay by Hampton Dellinger about his father is available here.)