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 1511–1520 of 2202
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FBI Domestic Security Investigations
This memo concluded that the attorney general could lawfully delegate responsibility for approving domestic security investigations to the deputy attorney general.
9/2/2022
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Applicability of the Service Contract Act of 1965 to Federal Reserve Banks
Service Contract Act of 1965 (41 U.S.C. §§ 351 et seq.)—Applicability to Federal Reserve Banks 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/21711/download.
9/26/1978
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Delegation and Quorum Issues Concerning the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science
National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (20 U.S.C. §§ 1501 et seq.)—Quorum Under Commission's Sunshine Act—Delegation of Authority by the Librarian of 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/21706/download.
9/19/1978
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Whether the Department of Justice May Furnish Technical Assistance to the State of Iowa in Litigation Between the State and a Private Party
Government Officers and Employees—Department of Justice (5 U.S.C. § 3372) 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/21701/download.
9/8/1978
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Authority of Water Resources Council to Expend Carried-Over Funds
Water Resources Council (42 U.S.C. § 1962a)—Authority to Expend Carried-Over Funds 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/21691/download.
9/6/1978
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Status of the National Security Council as an Agency Under the Freedom of Information Act
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552)—National Security Council—Agency Status Under FOIA 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/21696/download.
9/6/1978
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Release to a Court of Trade Secret Information Protected Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
Trade Secrets—Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. § 331)—Disclosure—Swine Influenza Immunization Program (42 U.S.C. § 2746) 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/21686/download.
9/1/1978
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Authority of Comptroller General to Obtain Information Relating to United States Metric Board Appointments and Recent Coal Strike
General Accounting Office—Authority to Obtain Information in Possession of Executive Branch—Constitutional Law—President—Confidential Communications—Appointments 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/21681/download.
8/31/1978
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The Attorney-Client Relationship in Department of Justice Representation of Individual Employees and Release of Information Obtained During that Representation Under the Freedom of Information Act
This opinion reviews whether, during the course of the Justice Department's representation of a federal employee in a lawsuit, the attorney-client privilege would conflict with either a government attorney's statutory duty to report violations of law, or the obligation to release information requested under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"). The opinion concludes that the statutory duty to report does not override attorney-client privilege, and that most confidential or "secret" client information would be exempt from disclosure under FOIA. 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 https://justice.gov/olc/page/file/936111/download.
8/30/1978
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Disposition of Federal Excess Personal Property Under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 and the Foreign Assistance of 1961
Federal Excess Personal Property—Disposition Under § 608 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. § 2358)—Effect of 40 U.S.C. § 483(d) 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/21676/download.
8/22/1978