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 1391–1400 of 2202
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Discretion of Secretary of Commerce in Establishing Boundaries Between Adjoining Regional Fishery Management Councils Under the Fishery Conservation and Management Act
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq.)—Boundaries Between Adjoining Regional Fishery Management Councils 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/22236/download.
12/14/1979
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Authority of the Surgeon General to Direct the Public Health Service Not to Certify Arriving Homosexual Aliens as Possessing a "Mental Defect or Disease" Solely Because of Their Homosexuality
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. § 1182)—Immigration and Naturalization Service—Public Health Service—Homosexuality as Grounds for Exclusion 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/22231/download.
12/10/1979
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Employment of Temporary or Intermittent Investigators and Attorneys to Investigate and Assist in the Processing of Office Special Counsel Cases
Merit Systems Protection Board—Special Counsel—Employment of Temporary or Intermittent Attorneys and Investigators (31 U.S.C. § 686) 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/22226/download.
12/7/1979
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Power to Remove Court-Appointed U.S. Attorneys
U.S. Attorneys—Removal of Court-Appointed U.S. Attorney (28 U.S.C. §§ 541, 546) 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/22221/download.
11/26/1979
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Disposition of Government Property Located at Former President Nixon's San Clemente Residence
(1) Presidential Protection Assistance Act (18 U.S.C. § 3056 note)—Retroactive Effect; (2) Federal Improvements to Real Property Owned by a Former President—Title Thereto—Removal Of 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/22216/download.
11/23/1979
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The President's Authority to Force the Shah to Return to Iran
The Shah cannot be extradited to Iran, since the United States has no extradition treaty with Iran; however, §§ 241(a)(7) and 212(a)(27) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) would permit the Attorney General to deport the Shah if his presence in this country were determined to be prejudicial to the public interest. On its face, § 243(a) of the INA appears to permit the Attorney General to force the Shah, upon deportation, to return to Iran; however, § 243(h) of the INA and applicable principles of international law would preclude the Attorney General's forcing anyone to return to a country where he or she would be subject to political persecution, as the Shah would be if deported to Iran. 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/22331/download.
11/23/1979
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Presidential Implementation of Emergency Powers Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
The President may issue a single executive order invoking the remainder of his powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, in response to the situation in Iran, which would permit him to block the property of Iranian citizens as well as that of their government, and to effect a complete trade embargo. The President may delegate the exercise of all implementing powers to the Secretary of the Treasury. Such an order need not declare a new emergency, but could simply find that the underlying emergency continues, and such an order need not be accompanied by an immediate report to Congress. 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/22326/download.
11/21/1979
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Immigration Laws and Iranian Students
The President has authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to limit or halt entry of Iranian nationals into the United States. He also has available to him under that statute a number of options by which he may regulate the conditions under which Iranian nationals already present in the country remain here or depart. While the matter is not free from doubt, a reasonable reading of § 241(a)(7) of the INA would allow the Attorney General to take into account adverse foreign policy consequences in determining whether an alien's continued presence in the United States is prejudicial to the public interest, so as to render him or her deportable. However, it would be constitutionally in appropriate to identify members of the class of deportable persons in terms of their exercise of First Amendment rights. Both the INA and the Constitution require that all persons be given a hearing and an opportunity for judicial review before being deported; however, neither the INA nor the Constitution would preclude the Attorney General or Congress from taking action directed solely at Iranian nationals, particularly in light of the serious national security and foreign policy interests at stake in the present crisis. 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/22321/download.
11/11/1979
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Supplementary Discussion of the President's Powers Relating to the Seizure of the American Embassy in Iran
Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, diplomats are not subject to any form of arrest or detention even in case of armed conflict, though their movements may be restricted. Iran's conduct might be invoked in this case as a ground for suspending the Convention, in which case non-forcible reprisals against its diplomats in this country may be used. The President may use his constitutional power to protect Americans abroad, subject to the consultation and reporting requirements of the War Powers Resolution. While not unconstitutional on their face, these requirements may have applications which raise constitutional questions insofar as they limit the President's power as Commander-in-Chief. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergencies Act together authorize the blocking of Iranian assets and the subsequent licensing of particular transactions. These statutes specify the procedures to be followed in the event such a course is followed. 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/22316/download.
11/11/1979
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Form of Consultation Required for Presidential Decisions Under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978
President—Consultation—Form—Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (§ 507(a)(1), 43 U.S.C. § 2007(a)(1)) 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/22211/download.
11/8/1979