The OLC
Astrid Da Silva

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.

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  • Date of Appointment for Purposes of Calculating the Term of an Interim United States Attorney

    The appointment date of an interim United States Attorney appointed by the Attorney General is established by the Attorney General's intent, and here the form of order used by the Attorney General expressly states her intent—that the appointment is made upon satisfaction of the conditions that the office is vacant and that the designee has taken the oath of office. 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/19421/download.

    3/16/2000

  • Enforcement of INA Employer Sanctions Provisions Against Federal Government Entities

    Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which establishes employer verification requirements and authorizes the Immigration and Naturalization Service to take enforcement actions against employers for failure to comply with those requirements, authorizes imposition of employer sanctions against federal government entities. The INS can exercise this enforcement authority against persons and entities within all three branches of the federal government in a manner consistent with the Constitution. 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/19426/download.

    3/15/2000

  • Starting Date for Calculating the Term of an Interim United States Attorney

    Under 28 U.S.C. § 546(c)(2), the 120-day term of an interim United States Attorney appointed by the Attorney General is calculated from the date of the appointment, rather than the date on which the vacancy occurred. 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/19431/download.

    3/10/2000

  • Legal Effectiveness of a Presidential Directive, as Compared to an Executive Order

    A presidential directive has the same substantive legal effect as an executive order. It is the substance of the presidential action that is determinative, not the form of the document conveying that action. Both an executive order and a presidential directive remain effective upon a change in administration, unless otherwise specified in the document, and both continue to be effective until subsequent presidential action is taken. 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/19436/download.

    1/29/2000

  • Authority of the Advisory Board for Cuba Broadcasting to Act in the Absence of a Presidentially Designated Chairperson

    The advisory Board for Cuba Broadcasting has the authority to meet and to conduct business without a presidentially designated chairperson or an acting chairperson. The advisory Board for Cuba Broadcasting does not have the authority to elect an acting chairperson. 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/19441/download.

    1/4/2000

  • Applicability of 18 U.S.C. § 205(a)(2) to Representation Before Non-Federal Agency

    18 U.S.C. § 205(a)(2), which bars a Federal employee from acting as an agent or attorney before any "agency . . . in connection with any covered matter in which the United States is a party or has a direct and substantial interest," applies only to Federal agencies and does not apply to state agencies or agencies of the District of Columbia. 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/19446/download.

    1/3/2000

  • Participation by Processor-Owned Catcher Vessels in Inshore Cooperatives Under the American Fisheries Act of 1998

    Section 210(b) of the American Fisheries Act of 1998 permits catcher vessels owned by shoreside processors to participate in AFA-authorized fishery cooperatives. 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/19451/download.

    12/10/1999

  • Appointment of a Senate-Confirmed Nominee

    The President is not legally obligated to appoint a nominee to whom the Senate has given its advice and consent. Until the President takes the final public act necessary to complete the appointment, which in the case of a Senate-confirmed official is customarily evidenced by the President's signing the commission, the President retains full discretion not to appoint the nominee. 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/19461/download.

    10/12/1999

  • Tribal Restrictions on Sharing of Indigenous Knowledge on Uses of Biological Resources

    The Indian Civil Rights Act, rather than the federal Constitution, limits the power of an Indian tribe vis-à-vis its members. In interpreting provisions of the ICRA, it is appropriate to look to precedents under analogous constitutional provisions constraining federal and state action, although particular facts about tribal structure and traditions may be relevant to the analysis. In some factual circumstances, a tribal ordinance prohibiting members from sharing, with researchers or others outside the tribe, information on possible commercial uses of biological resources would raise concerns under the free speech provision of the ICRA. The legality of such an ordinance would depend on a number of factors including how widely known the information is; whether those who hold the information have a particular relationship of trust with the tribe; the magnitude of the tribal interest underlying the tribe's effort not to disclose the information; and whether the information can be viewed as tribal property under an intellectual property regime that is otherwise consistent with applicable law. 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/19456/download.

    10/12/1999

  • Proposed Change in EEOC Regulations Concerning Right-to-Sue Notices for Public Sector Employees

    The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission proposal to amend its procedural regulations to allow the Commission to issue a right-to-sue notice where it has failed to make a reasonable cause determination within 180 days after the filing of a charge against a state or local governmental entity is not permissible under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. 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/19466/download.

    10/7/1999

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