RADLEY BALKO: Why Did Obama Wimp Out on a Death Penalty Case? “The president who was once a champion of defendants’ rights to DNA evidence as a senator in Illinois has now let his Justice Department oppose that right at the Supreme Court. What happened?” At a guess, institutional politics in the Solicitor General’s office, but that’s just a guess. Or maybe just politics — Elena Kagan hasn’t been confirmed yet, and may not want news stories about a position-switch. But that’s just a guess, too.