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After a routine Supreme Court argument on Wednesday, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. asked the lawyer who had represented the government to return to the lectern.

“You have just presented your 160th argument before this court, and I understand it is intended to be your last,” the chief justice told the lawyer, Edwin S. Kneedler, who is retiring as a deputy solicitor general. “That is the record for modern times.”

Chief Justice Roberts talked a little more, with affection and high praise, thanking Mr. Kneedler for his “extraordinary care and professionalism.”

Then something remarkable happened. Applause burst out in the courtroom, and that led to a standing ovation for Mr. Kneedler, with the justices joining, too.

“It was a rare moment of unanimity and spontaneous joy from all nine justices on the bench,” said Richard Lazarus, a law professor at Harvard. “They were all beaming.”

Kannon Shanmugam, a veteran Supreme Court lawyer, said it was “one of the most electric moments I’ve ever seen in the courtroom.”

The tribute to Mr. Kneedler’s candor and integrity came against the backdrop of a different kind of courtroom behavior. In the early months of the second Trump administration, its lawyers have been accused of gamesmanship, dishonesty and defiance, and have been fired for providing frank answers to judges.

Mr. Kneedler presented a different model, former colleagues said.

“Ed is the embodiment of the government lawyer ideal — one whose duty of candor to the court and interest in doing justice, not just winning a case, always carried the day,” said Gregory G. Garre, who served as solicitor general under President George W. Bush.

Mr. Shanmugam said Mr. Kneedler’s loyalty was to the rule of law. “He would much rather get the law right at the risk of losing,” Mr. Shanmugam said, “than win at the cost of misrepresenting the law.”

Seth P. Waxman, who was solicitor general in the Clinton administration, said Mr. Kneedler was the opposite of a partisan.

“In all the years that I worked with Ed in the Justice Department, I did not know his politics,” Mr. Waxman said.

Mr. Kneedler joined the Office of the Solicitor General, the elite unit of the Justice Department that represents the federal government in the Supreme Court, in 1979, served in many administrations and helped tutor the solicitors general who came and went.

“I was incredibly lucky to have Ed as a deputy when I was S.G.,” Justice Elena Kagan, who served as solicitor general in the Obama administration, said in a statement. “There’s pretty much no legal question he can’t answer. And he has a bone-deep understanding of the traditions and ethos of the S.G.’s office.”

She added: “I learned from him every day, and I did my job far better because he was there. In all the time I’ve spent in government, I’ve never known a finer public servant.”

That was something like a consensus view among former solicitors general. Mr. Waxman, for instance, called Mr. Kneedler “a national treasure.”

Noel J. Francisco, the solicitor general in the first Trump administration, said that Mr. Kneedler was “not just a font of knowledge, but of wisdom.”

Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the solicitor general in the Biden administration, said that “Ed Kneedler represents the very best of what it means to be a lawyer for the United States.”

Mr. Kneedler’s retirement is part of a wave of departures from the solicitor general’s office, which is quite small. After the solicitor general and a handful of deputies, there are just 16 line lawyers. About half of them are leaving, The Washington Post reported this month.

Mr. Kneedler, 79, did not respond to requests for an interview. When he received an award this month from the University of Virginia’s law school, his alma mater, he said he was “a career civil servant, not in the press if I can avoid it.”

At the ceremony, Mr. Kneedler gave extended remarks, making points that in another era might have seemed unremarkable. These days, they verged on provocative.

Calling himself a “citizen lawyer,” he praised the many federal employees he had worked with, saying he had been impressed by their “compassion and understanding for our country, and dedication to our country.”

He said his office analyzed legal issues with rigor and care, at least in cases on the court’s regular docket. Since Mr. Trump took office in January, the government has filed a torrent of emergency applications on what critics call the court’s shadow docket.

“When we don’t have emergencies like we have a number of now,” Mr. Kneedler said, “we have a very structured decision-making process.”

Leslie Kendrick, the Virginia law school’s dean, asked Mr. Kneedler a few questions, one of which was premised on his office’s “commitment to providing nonpartisan representation for the United States, regardless of cause, regardless of the political leadership of the other two branches.”

Mr. Kneedler did not quite adopt the premise. “We are lawyers for the United States,” he said, “and the administration in office is the ultimate determiner of what the interests of the United States are.”

But he ended his remarks on a hopeful note. “We’re all part of a process that is leading us to a more perfect union,” he said, “which means a union in which we are coming together, not apart.”

Before the standing ovation at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Chief Justice Roberts, himself a veteran of the solicitor general’s office, added what he called a personal note as he spoke to Mr. Kneedler.

“I recall that on two occasions you and I argued on the same side here, me representing a private client and you the United States,” the chief justice said. “We lost each of those cases. I’m sure it was my fault. Mr. Kneedler, thank you for your outstanding service to court and country.”

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Labour council forced to remove Low Traffic Neighbourhood after losing legal battle with residents

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A major London authority has been forced to remove its Low Traffic Neighbourhood after a High Court ruling found it to be unlawful for residents and drivers.

Lambeth Council revealed that it has been ordered to remove the controversial traffic measure “as soon as it can be done safely,” marking a victory for motorists.

Reports suggest the council must now pay £35,000 in legal fees to campaigners who successfully challenged the controversial traffic restrictions.

This marks the first time courts have shut down an LTN after residents mounted a legal challenge. The West Dulwich Action Group, which brought the case, is now demanding the council refund more than £1million collected in fines during the scheme’s operation.

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Low Traffic Neighbourhood and Lambeth

Lambeth Council has been forced to remove the Low Traffic Neighbourhood in West Dulwich

PA/GETTY

Justice Smith rejected the council’s appeal against a May ruling, ordering the immediate removal of the traffic restrictions. He criticised the authority for attempting to “revoke” the scheme rather than having it “quashed” by the court.

The judge’s original ruling in May found Lambeth Council guilty of a “serious failing” after it ignored an “impressive” 53-page dossier compiled by residents.

The document warned that the street closures could lead to increased congestion and pollution on boundary roads, affecting thousands of school and nursery children.

The judge said the presentation was “highly relevant to the decision confronting officers” and that “the failure to have regard to it was a serious failing, rendering the decision to make the orders unlawful”.

During the consultation, the LTN received 67 per cent negative responses

PA

The judge also found the council had given a “masterclass in selective partial reporting” after a council document failed to record how a public consultation had prompted “hostility” from residents.

Court evidence revealed a startling 67 per cent of consultation respondents were “either unhappy or very unhappy with what was proposed.”

The opposition group mounted their legal challenge after claiming the street closures had increased traffic and pollution on roads bordering the zone.

The group represented local residents and businesses affected by the scheme, including several residents’ associations.

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During formal and informal consultations, WDAG has called on Lambeth to clarify whether it will refund the fines, stating: “This is not just about legality, it’s about fairness and public trust. If the law was broken, the money should be paid back.”

The group warned the council against pursuing the case further at the Court of Appeal, saying it would “further waste taxpayers’ money and signal that its priority is protecting revenue, not engaging with the community it serves”.

A WDAG spokesperson said: “This ruling sends a clear signal to all councils nationwide: communities will no longer tolerate top-down, poorly conceived schemes that ignore local input, which prioritise revenue over real solutions to issues like pollution.

“It’s a wake-up call to councils everywhere: to not impose blanket schemes ignoring genuine concerns and issues, and to work with your communities.”

Lambeth Council will have to pay the legal fees as part of losing the appeal

BRISTOL CITY COUNCIL

Lambeth Council confirmed today that it would comply with the court order, with a spokesperson stating: “The High Court has ordered the removal of West Dulwich Street Improvements. No further fines will be issued, and we are removing the scheme as soon as it can be done safely.”

The council maintained its original intentions, with deputy leader Rezina Chowdhury explaining that the LTN was implemented to reduce road danger and create a neighbourhood where “residents can live safer, happier and healthier lives”.

She added: “This was part of our overall ambition to reduce road danger, encourage more active and sustainable travel, and improve air quality for communities across our borough.”

The council said it was “carefully considering the implications of this judgment” while confirming the scheme would be dismantled.

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