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 1491–1500 of 2202
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Use of Funds for Food Stamp Workfare Projects
Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (29 U.S.C. § 812)—Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. § 2026(b)(2)—Use of Funds for Food Stamp Workfare Projects 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/21801/download.
12/20/1978
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Acceptance of Funds by the Department of Justice From Other Agencies to Employ Attorneys in Land Acquisition Cases
Department of Justice—Transfer of Funds From Another Agency—Payment for Attorney Services—Economy Act (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/21791/download.
12/18/1978
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Application of State Law to CIA's Proposed Administration of Polygraph Examinations of Its Contractors' Employees
Central Intelligence Agency—Supremacy Clause (Constitution, Article VI, Clause 2)—Possible State-Federal Law Conflict Involving Classified Information—CIA's Proposed Administration of Polygraph Examinations of Its Contractors' 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/21781/download.
12/18/1978
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Application of State Law to CIA's Proposed Administration of Polygraph Examinations to Its Contractors' Employees (II)
Supremacy Clause (Art. VI, cl. 2)—Central Intelligence Agency—Polygraph Examinations of Employee of CIA Contracts 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/21796/download.
12/18/1978
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Visa Revocation and Dual Citizenship Issues in the Cuban Parole Program
Immigration and Nationality Act § 1182(d)(5))—Cuban Parole Act Program 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/21786/download.
12/18/1978
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Use of Mail Covers in FBI Investigations Under the Foreign Intelligence and Foreign Counter-Intelligence Guidelines
National Security Mail Covers—Constitutional Challenge—Federal Bureau of Investigation (39 CFR 233.2(d)(2)(H)) 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/21776/download.
12/15/1978
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Security Issues Under Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
Authored a few months after the passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), this memo summarized issues concerning the security procedures under FISA and attempted to convey the position of the intelligence community with respect to the functioning of the to-be-constituted foreign intelligence surveillance courts. It included discussion of the location of the court overseeing surveillance, whether court personnel should be part of the executive branch, the use of law clerks, security clearances for judges and judicial branch court personnel, and security and storage of court records.
9/2/2022
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Disposition of Items Carried by Astronauts on Space Flights
National Aeronautics and Space Agency—Disposition of Items Carried by Astronauts on Space Flights 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/21771/download.
12/6/1978
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Legality of Funding the Wider Opportunities for Women Program in the Metropolitan Washington Area
Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 6701—6710)—Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW)—Program Funding in the Metropolitan Washington Area 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/21766/download.
12/6/1978
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Legal Permissibility of Employer Providing Certain Benefits to Employee Serving as a White House Fellow
Supplementation of Salary of Government Empoyees (18 U.S.C. § 209)—Propriety of Employer Providing Certain Benefits to Employee Serving as a White House Fellow 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/21761/download.
11/29/1978