Showing 1281–1290 of 2214

• 1/12/1981

  Formulation of Department of Justice Policy on Private Bills of Relief for Victims of Constitutional Torts

  The document discusses the formulation of Department of Justice policy on private bills of relief for victims of constitutional torts. The conclusion reached is that there are no unidentified or disputed legal issues involved in the formulation of policy on this issue by the Department. The document presents questions regarding the role of the Office of Legal Counsel in addressing any substantive legal issues raised in intradepartmental comments, as well as the resources available to staff the policy concerns involved. It also raises the question of whether there is a need for the Office to play a role until specific and unresolved legal issues are identified and brought to their attention.

  7/27/2020

• 1/12/1981

  Diverting Oil Imports to United States Allies

  The International Emergency Economic Powers Act would authorize the President, in order to deal with an Iranian cutoff of oil to United States allies, to require American oil companies and foreign entities they control to ship oil they acquire abroad to certain specified nations and in certain specified quantities. While there must be a "foreign interest" in the oil for the President to invoke IEEPA's powers, foreign interest unassociated with the nation that is creating the emergency would be sufficient. Section 232(b) of the Trade Expansion Act would allow the President to impose a quota on oil imports for national security reasons, including reasons relating to foreign policy considerations; however, it would not give him power to direct the diversion of oil imports to other countries. 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/22416/download.

  1/12/1981

• 1/9/1981

  United States Attorney's Representation of Private Insurance Company in Civil Litigation

  It is not improper for the Department of Justice to admit the liability of the United States on an indemnity claim in civil litigation, even if the Department previously refused to enter into a "hold harmless" agreement with the party seeking indemnity. Representation arrangement, whereby the United States Attorney will appear as counsel both for a private insurance group and for the United States in the same civil litigation, creates no ethical difficulty, given the coincidence of both parties' interests and their consent. 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/22556/download.

  1/9/1981

• 1/8/1981

  Voting Procedures for the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission

  The document discusses the voting procedures for the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission and the interpretation of its statutorily-prescribed voting procedure. The conclusion reached is that the Commission must agree to the Master Plan by a two-thirds vote of the members present at a meeting attended by a quorum, and that the requirement for the two-thirds vote to be made up of a majority of both federal and state representatives is improper. The document presents questions for review regarding the interpretation of the voting procedure, the conflict between the Commission's by-law and the statute, and the potential subversion of Congress' intent by giving a majority of the states a veto.

  7/27/2020

• 1/6/1981

  Views on two issues relating to the President's power to make appointments to the District of Columbia Superior Court under Public Law 93-198 § 434(d)(1).

  The document is a memorandum responding to questions about the President's power to make appointments to the District of Columbia Superior Court. The conclusion reached is that the President can resubmit his nominations to the Senate without asking for a new list of candidates from the Commission, and he has a sixty-day period to do so. The questions presented for review include whether the President may resubmit his nominations without asking for a new list of candidates, and whether the President has a sixty-day period within which to do so. The document also addresses the issue of the Senate adjourning sine die without acting on a nomination, concluding that the President should be entitled to the full sixty-day period to reconsider his nominations in the light of the Senate's inaction.

  10/27/2020

• 1/2/1981

  "Bifurcated" Settlement Negotiations in Cases Involving Statutorily Authorized Attorneys' Fees

  The document discusses the ethical and legal implications of discussing attorneys' fees in settlement negotiations before the relief to be awarded to plaintiffs is resolved. It presents the argument that such discussions may lead to conflicts of interest for the plaintiff's attorney, potentially sacrificing the client's interests for the attorney's own gain. The document reviews the case law and ABA Code of Professional Responsibility governing adversarial legal practice to determine if a flat ban on discussing fees before final settlement is required. It concludes that there is no legal basis for such a ban and that the issue should be decided on a case-by-case basis. The document also highlights the tension between a bifurcated settlement procedure and the recommended approach of having a court evaluate the total settlement, but does not find a violation of ABA ethical restrictions as a matter of law.

  7/27/2020

• 12/30/1980

  Applicability of the Compact Clause to Use of Multiple State Entities Under the Water Resources Planning Act

  Agreements between the federal government and a state are not subject to congressional consent under the Compact Clause, U.S. Const. Art. I, § 10, cl. 3; nor are all agreements between or among states so subject, but only those which encroach upon or interfere with the authority of the federal government. States may engage cooperatively in a broad range of planning activities under the Water Resources Planning Act without obtaining congressional consent, so long as they impose no legal obligation or disability on governmental or private parties. Congress has given advance consent to planning activities of the statutory river basin commissions, but not to those of interagency committees or multiple state entities. 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/24656/download.

  12/30/1980

• 12/22/1980

  Emergency Assistance to the District of Columbia Department of Corrections in Case of a Work Stoppage

  Under 31 U.S.C. § 685a(a), which authorizes federal agencies to provide services on a contractual basis to the District of Columbia government, the Attorney General may provide Bureau of Prisons personnel to the District of Columbia Department of Corrections in the event of a work stoppage by Department employees. 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/24651/download.

  12/22/1980

• 12/11/1980

  Adjusting the Census for Recent Immigrants: The Chiles Amendment

  The Chiles Amendment authorizes the President to order a special census pursuant to 13 U.S.C. § 196, or to use some other method of obtaining a revised estimate of the population, whenever he determines that the population of a particular area is significantly affected by an influx of immigrants within six months of a regular decennial census date. The Chiles Amendment was intended simply to remove an unfairly arbitrary element from the census, and not to serve as an indirect means of aiding jurisdictions affected by large numbers of recent immigrants. Accordingly, the entire population of significantly affected jurisdictions must be estimated, in order to take into account both the recent influx of immigrants and any offsetting recent population decline. 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/24641/download.

  12/11/1980

• 12/11/1980

  Litigating Authority of the Office of Federal Inspector, Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System

  The statutory assignment to the Attorney General of plenary responsibility for the conduct of litigation involving the United States furthers a number of important policy goals, and exceptions to this plenary grant will be narrowly construed. The Office of Federal Inspector (OFI) of the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System has no general power to conduct litigation, although it is possible that OFI may have a degree of specific authority derived from the independent litigating authority of agencies whose enforcement powers were transferred to OFI by Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1979. The Attorney General may not delegate or transfer his authority and responsibility to supervise and control litigation, by way of a memorandum of understanding or otherwise, to an agency, like OFI, that does not independently possess litigating authority; however, attorneys from OFI may participate in litigation as part of a team headed by attorneys from the Department of Justice. 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/24646/download.

  12/11/1980