Trump Solicitor General Has High Court’s Ear as Ideologies Meet

The Solicitor General’s special role as the federal government’s top lawyer at the U.S. Supreme Court has earned the office the informal title of the “tenth justice.”

That moniker may be truer today than it’s ever been.

Led by former Jones Day partner Noel Francisco, the Office of the Solicitor General—or OSG—has an almost perfect record this term when it comes to recommendations on what cases the justices should take up. The alignment comes as the court faces a perception that it’s just another political branch—a criticism that could gain further traction as the court prepares to take on ...