Reading Room Document

Notification to Congress of the Department's Decision Not to Maintain the Constitutionality of an Act of Congress.

The document is a memorandum to the Attorney General regarding the decision not to maintain the constitutionality of an Act of Congress. It discusses the requirement for the Attorney General to transmit a report to Congress when determining that the Department of Justice will contest or refrain from defending any provision of law enacted by Congress because it is deemed unconstitutional. The conclusion reached in the document is that the Public Law No. 96-369 was determined to be unconstitutional under the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Will. The document presents the question of whether the Attorney General should contest or refrain from defending Acts of Congress only in exceptionally rare circumstances and proposes reports to both Houses of Congress to transmit the required information.

February 5, 1981