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Olson argues first case as solicitor general

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Ted Olson returned to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, presenting his first case since President George W. Bush named him solicitor general and his first case since he lost his wife, Barbara, who was on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11.

Olson has attended every session at the court since the 2001 term began last week, but had not participated in any oral arguments, leaving those to his deputies. During the court's opening session on October 1, Chief Justice William Rehnquist offered condolences to Olson on the loss of his wife, a conservative commentator and attorney.

In Wednesday's case, Verizon v. Federal Communications Commission, Olson presented a 30-minute argument in support of the FCC's reading of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Established telephone carriers have challenged the FCC's ability to regulate rates they may charge new competitors for using their networks.

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Joined by Bell South and SBC Communications, Verizon argued that it should be entitled to set fees based on out-of-pocket expenditures made when the networks were built, rather than current investment costs.

Justice Antonin Scalia subjected Olson to the most vigorous questioning, likening the FCC's rate scheme to "spinning a wheel," without concern for compensating established providers for billions of dollars spent on building telecommunications systems.

"The Congress of the United States has decided we have to have competition, " Olson told Scalia. "They were never promised, contractually or constitutionally, that they would recover every nickel of their investment."

Olson, who was confirmed by the Senate in May after all nine Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted against his nomination, last argued before the court on December 11, representing President Bush in his post-election legal battle with Vice President Al Gore. Olson and the Bush legal team succeeded in convincing five justices that Florida's manual ballot recount scheme was unfair and should not go forward. Bush nominated Olson as solicitor general in February.

Olson previously had argued a total of 14 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including two Bush v. Gore arguments. He also argued a 1996 case for the Virginia Military Institute, claiming the military academy should not be required to admit female cadets; VMI lost in a 6-2 decision.