The OLC's Opinions
Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit
This Reading Room is a comprehensive database of published opinions written by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). It contains the approximately 1,400 opinions published by the OLC in its online database and the opinions produced in Freedom of Information Act litigation brought by the Knight Institute, including opinions about the Pentagon Papers, the Civil Rights Era, and the War Powers Act. It also contains indexes of unclassified OLC opinions written between 1945 and February 15, 1994 (these indexes were created by the OLC and intended to be comprehensive). We have compiled those indexes into a single list here and in .csv format here. This Reading Room also contains an index of all classified OLC opinions issued between 1974 and 2021, except those classified or codeword-classified at a level higher than Top Secret (the OLC created this index, too, and intended it to be comprehensive).
The Knight Institute will continue updating the reading room with new records. To get alerts when the OLC publishes a new opinion in its database, follow @OLCforthepeople on Twitter.
Showing 381–390 of 2202
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Under Secretary of the Treasury for Enforcement
The President does not have a legal duty to make a nomination for Under Secretary of the Treasury for Enforcement. If the President does not make a nomination, the Secretary of the Treasury could perform the duties himself or assign them to another official of his department. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/19011/download.
12/19/2002
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Bureau of Prisons practice of placing in community confinement certain offenders who have received selltences ofimprisonment
This opinion concludes that it is unlawful for the Bureau of Prisons to place certain federal offenders it deemed to be low-risk and nonviolent in a community corrections center, halfway house, or other forms of "community confinement," rather than in prison, since the Bureau of Prisons does not have the statutory authority to do so. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at https://justice.gov/olc/page/file/936276/download.
12/13/2002
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Whether False Statements or Omissions in Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Declaration Would Constitute a "Further Material Breach" Under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441
False statements or omissions in Iraq's weapons of mass destruction declaration would by themselves constitute a "further material breach" of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/19016/download.
12/7/2002
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Expiration of Authority of Recess Appointees
Two members of the National Labor Relations Board who received recess appointments between the first and second sessions of the 107th Congress may not continue to serve on the Board after the Senate adjourned the second session sine die. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/19021/download.
11/22/2002
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Signing of H.J. Res. 124
This opinion determines that President Bush needs not sign H.J. Res. 124 in handwriting to signify his approval the bill, but can rather direct an aide to affix the President’s signature to it, since the word “sign” is expansive enough to include the meaning of “cause the bill to bear the President’s signature.” The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at https://justice.gov/olc/page/file/936271/download.
11/22/2002
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Designation of Acting Solicitor of Labor
Eugene Scalia, now serving as the Solicitor for the Department of Labor under a recess appointment, could be given a second position in the non-career Senior Executive Service in the Department of Labor before or after his recess appointment expires and, while serving in his non-career Senior Executive Service position, could be designated as the Acting Solicitor after his recess appointment expires. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/19026/download.
11/15/2002
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Effect of a Recent United Nations Security Council Resolution on the Authority of the President Under International Law to Use Military Force Against Iraq
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441 does not alter the legal authority, under international law, granted by existing U.N. Security Council resolutions to use force against Iraq. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/19031/download.
11/8/2002
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Authority of the President Under Domestic and International Law to Use Military Force Against Iraq
The President possesses constitutional authority to use military force against Iraq to protect United States national interests. This independent constitutional authority is supplemented by congressional authorization in the form of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution. Using force against Iraq would be consistent with international law because it would be authorized by the United Nations Security Council or would be justified as anticipatory self-defense. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/19036/download.
10/23/2002
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Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002
This opinion memorializes advice the OLC provided on the constitutionality of H. J. Res. 114, which authorized the president to use military force against Iraq. The opinion expresses the view that the bill is constitutional but unnecessary, since the president already possesses the authority to direct the use of military force as commander in chief, and Congress has previously authorized the use of force against Iraq during the Gulf War. The opinion suggests that the president make clear in a signing statement that the resolution should not be regarded as legally necessary. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at https://justice.gov/olc/docs/memo-military-force-iraq.pdf.
10/21/2002
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Authority of FEMA to Provide Disaster Assistance to Seattle Hebrew Academy
The Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1974 and its implementing regulations permit the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide federal disaster assistance for the reconstruction of Seattle Hebrew Academy, a private religious school that was damaged in an earthquake in 2001. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment does not pose a barrier to the Academy's receipt of such aid. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/623861/download.
9/25/2002