Walter Dellinger, influential scholar and lawyer, dies at 80

By JONATHAN DREW and MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Walter E. Dellinger has died. The constitutional scholar argued numerous cases before the Supreme Court, served in top positions in the Justice Department and taught for decades at Duke University. His son Hampton Dellinger says he died Wednesday morning at the age of 80 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. During Bill Clinton’s presidency, Dellinger led the influential Office of Legal Counsel that advises the attorney general on often sensitive legal and policy issues and served as the acting Solicitor General, the administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer. He also joined a legal team assembled by Democrats to take on election-related court cases last year.