Showing 1371–1380 of 2214

• 3/5/1980

  Use of IEEPA for Measures Against the Soviets

  This memo considered whether the International Emergency Economic Powers Act provided authority for certain measures the administration wished to take against the Soviet Union. Among other considerations, the OLC concluded that the president likely could not block NBC’s payments to the Soviet Union for broadcasting rights or American citizens’ payments for travel to the Soviet Union under IEEPA. However, the OLC concluded that IEEP likely did provide authority for the president to block loans and credits to the Soviet Union, to forbid Americans from entering into industrial joint venture investments in the Soviet Union, and to prevent American grain dealers from making indirect sales to the Soviet Union through intermediaries.

  9/2/2022

• 2/28/1980

  Authority of Indian Tribal Court to Issue Garnishment Writs Under 42 U.S.C. § 662(e)

  An Indian tribal court is a "court of competent jurisdiction" for purposes of issuing garnishment writs under 42 U.S.C. § 662(e), if it has the power under tribal law to issue judgments awarding child support or alimony. 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/22511/download.

  2/28/1980

• 2/28/1980

  Effect of 18 U.S.C. § 600 on Proposal for Hiring Census Enumerators

  Proposal to give preference for hiring as census enumerators to persons recommended by Democratic Party leaders does not violate 18 U.S.C. § 600, which punishes those who promise federal employment or benefits as an enticement to or reward for future political activity, but does not prohibit rewards for past political activity. Even if § 600 were read to prohibit a promise of employment or benefits as a reward for past political activity, under the proposed program neither Democratic Party leaders nor any potential census enumerators are being made such a promise. 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/22516/download.

  2/28/1980

• 2/22/1980

  Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime of Agent/Examiners in the FBI Laboratory

  Under 5 U.S.C. § 5545(c)(2), premium pay on an annual basis is authorized for "Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime" where duties of position are of such a nature that they cannot be performed during normal business hours. Whether work performed by agent-examiners in the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory is by its nature such as to qualify them for premium pay under § 5545(c)(2) is a question of fact. 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/22501/download.

  2/22/1980

• 2/22/1980

  Application of Conflict of Interest Rules to the Conduct of Government Litigation by Private Attorneys

  Whether the American Bar Association's Code of Professional Responsibility would bar private attorneys, retained as contractors to represent the interests of the United States in railroad litigation, from simultaneously representing other parties whose interests are adverse to those of the United States, depends on the facts of each situation. Ethical constraints on private attorneys retained to conduct railroad litigation on behalf of the United States do not end with the termination of the railroad litigation itself. The making of litigation judgments is a function at the core of the President's Article II duty to take ca re that the laws be faithfully executed, and must, therefore, be performed by those who serve under, and are responsible ultimately to, the President. The scope of ethical restraints on private attorneys retained by the United States depends upon extent of necessary interaction with and supervision by government officials; if close interaction and supervision can be anticipated, likelihood of ethical problems developing increases. Appendix identifies and discusses issues under the conflict of interest laws applicable to the temporary appointment of an attorney in private practice as a government attorney. 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/22506/download.

  2/22/1980

• 2/22/1980

  Constitutionality of State-Imposed Restrictions on Responses to Census Questions

  The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution bars a state from imposing restrictions on its residents' responses to questions contained in census form. Specific limited grant of power in the Constitution does not preclude Congress from enacting broader census legislation under the Necessary and Proper Clause. Statutory delegation to the Secretary of Commerce and Director of the Bureau of Census is not excessive, considering long history of census legislation and practice, and census forms are within that delegation. 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/22491/download.

  2/22/1980

• 2/22/1980

  Use of Polygraph Examinations in Investigating Disclosure of Information About Pending Criminal Investigations

  The Attorney General may order Justice Department employees to submit to polygraph tests to answer questions relating to pending criminal investigations, and may discharge an employee for refusing to take such a test. Even where an employee is entitled to be discharged only "for cause," failure to cooperate with an official investigation by taking a polygraph test may constitute adequate cause, as long as the employee is given reasonable assurances respecting the need for the test and the use to which its results may be put. 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/22496/download.

  2/22/1980

• 2/22/1980

  Civil Liberties

  This memo considered the proper level of consideration for civil liberties in the Justice Department’s work. It concluded that while concern for civil liberties should always be encouraged, sometimes the Department’s law enforcement duty made any kind of policy bias inappropriate.

  9/2/2022

• 2/19/1980

  Seizure of Foreign Ships on the High Seas Pursuant to Special Arrangements

  The United States has authority under international law to enter into agreements to stop, search, and detain foreign vessels on the high seas that are suspected of trafficking in illicit drugs. The United States may limit its jurisdiction over a foreign flag vessel seized on the high seas, and the vessel may be returned to the flag state at its request without compliance with domestic forfeiture law. Where the United States is authorized under international law to exercise its police powers to detain ships on behalf of their flag state, such detention does not constitute a taking under the Fifth Amendment. However, wh ere a ship is seized concurrently on behalf of the United States for violation of U.S. customs laws, a claimant is entitled to a prompt adjudication of his rights in the seized property. 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/22486/download.

  2/19/1980

• 2/12/1980

  Authority of National Telecommunications and Information Administration to Monitor Radio Communications

  The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) may monitor radio communications to the extent reasonably necessary to discharge its functions under 47 U.S.C. § 305(a) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(12) & (13). Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1963 prohibits NTIA from aurally monitoring communications between a radio and a land-line telephone. 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/22481/download.

  2/12/1980