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 1631–1640 of 2202
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Damage Claims Under the Atomic Energy Act
Damage Claims Under the Atomic Energy Act 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/21121/download.
6/25/1977
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Application of 18 U.S.C. §§ 212—213 to Borrowing Practices of Bank Examiners
Borrowing Practices of Bank Examiners 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/21116/download.
6/21/1977
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Political Affiliation Criteria for Visa Ineligibility
This OLC memo informed the attorney general of new legislative proposals to limit visa ineligibility on political affiliation grounds, and suggested that the State Department and attorney general meet with senators to discuss the proposals.
9/2/2022
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Power of the President to Designate Acting Member of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board
Power of the President to Designate Acting Member of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board 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/21111/download.
6/15/1977
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Request of Federal Employee to Appear on Behalf of His Daughter in IRS Audit
Request of a Federal Employee—Appearance on Behalf of His Daughter in IRS Audit 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/21106/download.
6/14/1977
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State Jurisdiction to Regulate Pollutant Emissions
State Jurisdiction to Regulate Pollutant Emissions 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/21101/download.
6/10/1977
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Rental Fees for Spaces in Military Trailer Parks
Rental Fees for Spaces in Military Trailer Parks 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/21096/download.
6/8/1977
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Administration's Policy on Assertion of Executive Privilege
This opinion examined past policies on executive privilege and concluded that the privilege “should be invoked only where necessary and only after a thorough inquiry into the actual need for doing so.” It also advised that the only the president should invoke the privilege directly. The opinion departed from the Nixon administration’s position on privilege and recommended a recalibration toward “greater harmony with Congress.”
9/2/2022
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Impact of Appropriations Committee Objection to Reprogramming Action by Agency for International Development
Reprogramming—Legislative Committee Objection 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/21091/download.
6/7/1977
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Constitutionality of Legislation Increasing the Size of the Board of Directors of the Federal National Mortgage Association
Constitutionality of S. 1397—Federal National Mortgage Association 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/21086/download.
6/3/1977