Katyal, whose appointment did not require Senate confirmation, is the second-highest ranking official in the solicitor general's office. He will work under Solicitor General nominee and Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan, following her Senate confirmation.
The solicitor general's office, a division of the Department of Justice, chooses the cases that the federal government presents before the Supreme Court. As principal deputy solicitor general, Katyal will conduct oral arguments before the Supreme Court in those cases not personally argued by the solicitor general.
Katyal, a professor at Georgetown University Law School, garnered national attention in 2007 after representing Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's former driver, before the Supreme Court in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. In the case, Katyal successfully argued that the military tribunals used to try terrorism suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay violated provisions of the Third Geneva Convention, which defines international humanitarian standards.
Many in the political community have speculated that Katyal's appointment signals Obama's intent to reverse the Bush administration's policies on the interrogation and detention of suspected terrorists.
Katyal's selection, combined with executive orders banning torture and requiring more transparency in the handling of government records, could indicate that Obama sees a more constrained role for the executive branch than did Bush, government professor Sonu Bedi said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
"[The appointment] points in a more general way to this administration's repudiation of an expansive view of executive power," Bedi wrote.
Caroline Harkins '09, who worked as an intern for Katyal during spring 2008, said Katyal's recent work focuses on creating a separate court system for people suspected of terrorism. Recent court cases involving terror suspects have become complicated when defense attorneys and judges are unable to access relevant information because they lack security clearance, she said.
Harkins also praised Katyal for taking the time to work personally with his interns despite his busy schedule, and lauded his "compassionate" personality.
Government professor Linda Fowler, who attended Katyal's 2007 speech at the College about Guantanamo Bay detainees, said she believes Katyal was a wise choice.
"I was very impressed with his analysis of [Hamdan v. Rumsfeld], his passionate advocacy for the rule of law and his willingness to take professional risks in the name of principle," Fowler said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
Katyal, a presidential scholar at the College, was a double major in government and Asian studies. A member of Sigma Nu fraternity and the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society, Katyal competed with the policy debate team, winning several awards at national tournaments.
After graduating magna cum laude from the College, Katyal earned his law degree from Yale Law School. He served as a national security advisor during former President Bill Clinton's administration, and has also been a featured guest on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report."
Katyal declined to comment for this article, citing Department of Justice policy. The Obama transition team and the White House press office did not return requests for comment by press time.
