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 1651–1660 of 2202
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Authority of Drug Enforcement Administration to Control Production of Plant Papaver Bracteatum
Control of Papaver Bracteatum—Drug Enforcement Administration 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/21041/download.
5/9/1977
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Status of Baggers as Federal Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
Status of Baggers as Federal Employees—Fair Labor Standards 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/21046/download.
5/9/1977
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Legal Remedies for Promotional Use of the President's Name
Promotional Use of the President's Name (15 U.S.C. § 1051, 15 U.S.C. § 45) 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/21331/download.
5/3/1977
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Congressional Access to Tax Returns Under 26 U.S.C. § 6103(f)
Congressional Access to Tax Returns—26 U.S.C. § 6103(f) 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/21036/download.
5/2/1977
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FBI request for authority for records destruction
9/2/2022
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Acceptance of Gifts to Be Used in the White House, the Official Residence of the Vice President, or the Offices of the President and Vice President
The White House—The Vice President—Gifts (3 U.S.C. §§ 110, 111; 16 U.S.C. § 6a) 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/21326/download.
4/27/1977
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Proposed Tax Assessment Against the United States Postal Service
Proposed Tax Assessment Against the United States Postal Service 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/21031/download.
4/22/1977
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Assumption by People's Republic of China of Expenses of U.S. Delegation
Assumption by People's Republic of China of Expenses of U.S. Delegation—Constitution (Art. I, § 9, cl. 8) 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/21321/download.
4/11/1977
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Constitutionality of Proposals Regarding an Independent Attorney General
Proposals Regarding an Independent Attorney General 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/21026/download.
4/11/1977
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Exclusion of Certain Rhodesian Aliens Under Section 212(a)(27) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
Section 212(a)(27) of the Immigration and Nationality Act—Exclusion of Certain Aliens—Rhodesia 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/21021/download.
4/11/1977