An Apology to Neal Katyal

I owe Neal Katyal, the deputy solicitor general, an apology. Yesterday, in a post about the next solicitor general, I allowed two anonymous sources to characterize Katyal in a way that is, at the very least, disputable. Anonymous pejoratives are quite distinctly a sin in my handbook of journalistic ethics. Katyal has litigated (and won) several of the most important Supreme Court cases of our time, including Hamdan and the recent challenge to the Voting Rights Act. In doing so he has had to work with a range of different lawyers, something he has done quite successfully. In general, no one deserves the indignity of seeing his name tarred anonymously, particularly if the fact isn't relevant to the substance of the article or post. Katyal deserved better. I apologize to him.