Olson, the conservative attorney who helped win the right to gay marriage in California, died Wednesday at age 84. Olson was a good-spirited and gracious advocate who won landmark conservative rulings from the Supreme Court. They included the Bush vs.

Ted Olson, the conservative attorney who formed an unexpected alliance with a liberal counterpart to mount a legal challenge to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8, has died.

Theodore B. Olson, a conservative attorney and former U.S. Solicitor General who argued before the Supreme Court on behalf of George W. Bush during the contested 2000 presidential election died Wednesday at age 84.