Showing 2071–2080 of 2202

• 8/12/1964

  Policy prohibiting officials and employees of the Federal Government or of the Government of the District of Columbia from appearing before segregated groups

  This opinion concluded that the government had the authority, and potentially the legal obligation, to prohibit its employees from appearing before segregated groups. The OLC compared the participation of federal employees in activities promoting segregated groups to a court’s enforcement of racial covenants, which the Supreme Court concluded violated the Fourteenth Amendment in Shelley v. Kraemer.

  5/16/2022

• 7/13/1964

  Implementation of Civil Rights Act

  This memo informed the White House that the Justice Department had established a task force to review agencies’ regulations implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The memo also noted that the Civil Rights Division had begun investigating discrimination in public accommodations in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

  5/16/2022

• 7/1/1964

  Use of Marshals, Troops, and Other Federal Personnel for Law Enforcement in Mississippi

  The problems of using large numbers of federal civilian law enforcement personnel in Mississippi are more practical than legal. So long as they confine themselves to investigation and prosecution of federal crimes, there is no legal problem. The practical problem is whether their presence serves to aggravate the emotions of the populace or alienate local law enforcement officials. On the factual assumption that there is a complete breakdown of state law enforcement as a result of Klan activity and Klan connections with local sheriffs and deputies, the President could, as a legal matter, invoke the authority of sections 332 and 333 of title 10 to use military troops in Mississippi. There is considerable information available that could be used to support that assumption as to some areas in Mississippi. But in view of the extreme seriousness of the use of those sections, the government should have more evidence than it presently has of the inability of state and local officials to maintain law and order—as a matter of wisdom as well as of law. 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/20911/download.

  7/1/1964

• 6/26/1964

  Possible Application of the Posse Comitatus Act to Use of Armed Forces in Mississippi Search

  This opinion concluded that naval forces could be used in connection with the search for civil rights activists James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman. The OLC reasoned that the Posse Comitatus Act did not apply to Navy personnel and applied only to law enforcement efforts rather than search-and-rescue operations.

  5/16/2022

• 12/26/1963

  Providing Government Films to the Democratic National Committee or Congressmen

  Government motion picture films may be made available to the Democratic National Committee or congressmen when public release is authorized by statute. In the absence of statutory authority, government films may be made available to the Committee or congressmen on a revocable loan basis if a public interest can be shown to justify such loan and if the films are available equally to other private organizations. It would be improper for any government agency to produce a film for the specific purpose of making it available to the Democratic National Committee or to congressmen. 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/20801/download.

  12/26/1963

• 11/27/1963

  President's reliance on Federal judges for assistance in nonjudicial matters

  This memo considered the president’s enlistment of federal judges for non-judicial matters. It found that there was no prohibition on federal judges performing non-judicial functions for the president and that the choice to do so was a matter of policy. However, it noted that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary strongly discouraged the practice as it could compromise the independence of judges and diminish the "prestige" of the judiciary.

  5/16/2022

• 11/19/1963

  Constitutionality of federal detention and commitment of narcotics addicts

  This memo considered Congress's authority to provide for civil commitment of narcotics addicts. It concluded that this action was not dictated by considerations of constitutional power, but instead could be made on the basis of policy judgments. Thus, the OLC explained that if there were a factual basis showing that curing narcotics addicts would significantly reduce illegal drug traffic and violations of narcotic law, and that compulsory commitment was necessary to cure addicts, Congress had the authority to provide for their civil commitment by a federal court.

  5/16/2022

• 10/25/1963

  Winston Churchill's right to vote

  This memo found that Winston Churchill’s honorary citizenship did not give him the right to vote in American elections.

  5/16/2022

• 8/27/1963

  Documents Involving the Use of Federal Forces in the District of Columbia

  This memo transmitted a draft presidential proclamation, executive order, and letters that could be used to deploy federal forces in the event that the March on Washington became violent.

  5/16/2022

• 8/9/1963

  Memorandum Concerning the Designation of Members of the National Guard of the District of Columbia as Special Police

  This opinion concluded that the D.C. National Guard could be designated as special police in advance of the 1963 March on Washington, and explained that designation could provide members of the Guard with “additional protection” from liability.

  5/16/2022