Showing 2101–2110 of 2202

• 5/11/1961

  Authority of the President to Reassign the Chairmanship of the Federal Power Commission

  The President has the power to remove the commissioner now serving as Chairman of the Federal Power Commission and reassign the chairmanship to another commissioner, and if the matter were to be litigated by the commissioner following his involuntary removal from chairmanship, the President's power to remove him would probably, but not certainly, be sustained. 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/20776/download.

  5/11/1961

• 4/12/1961

  Intervention by States and Private Groups in the Internal Affairs of Another State

  It would appear to be a violation of international law relating to neutrality if a neutral state permits the launching of an attack by organized armed forces from within its borders, permits the passage of organized armed forces through its territory, or permits armed forces to be organized and trained for such purpose within its borders. There would appear to be no violation of international law where a neutral state permits the mere provision of arms by private parties, even the stockpiling of arms, as long as they remain within the control of private groups rather than belligerent parties, or permits volunteers to be recruited, assembled, and perhaps even trained, so long as this does not approach the point of an organized military force. 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/20771/download.

  4/12/1961

• 3/28/1961

  Judicial review of constitutional problems raised by the federal aid to education

  In this memo, the OLC addressed the possibility of judicial review of federal loans to sectarian institutions, noting that the Supreme Court's rejection of taxpayer standing in Massachusetts v. Mallon made the prospect of review unlikely. The OLC noted that Congress could create a legislative scheme that created a special interest for some people, who could then challenge the law. This OLC opinion predated Flast v. Cohen.

  5/16/2022

• 3/22/1961

  Control of the importation of Communist propaganda

  This brief memorandum informed the White House that a committee within the National Security Council recommended that Communist propaganda continue to be inspected and stamped with a place of origin marker.

  5/16/2022

• 3/20/1961

  Constitutionality of assistance to sectarian schools

  In this memorandum, the OLC addressed the "difficult problem" of religious education, especially in the context of proposals to include sectarian schools as beneficiaries of primary and secondary school grants, long-term construction loans to sectarian schools, and the inclusion of private schools in then-pending bills to provide college scholarships. The OLC explained that the constitutionality of federal or state legislative proposals would depend on whether there was a legitimate, non-religious public purpose, which could be ascertained by how closely tied the benefit was to the religious aspects of the institution, the extent of the economic benefit, the level of education involved, whether the benefit accrued to the student or the institution, whether there were alternate means of providing the benefit.

  5/16/2022

• 3/9/1961

  Participation of the Vice President in the Affairs of the Executive Branch

  There is no general bar, either of a constitutional or statutory nature, against the President's transfer of duties to the Vice President; however, where, by the nature of the duty or by express constitutional or statutory delegation, the President must exercise individual judgment, the duty may not be transferred to anyone else. In foreign relations, at the will and as the representative of the President, the Vice President may engage in activities ranging into the highest levels of diplomacy and negotiation and may do so anywhere in the world. In matters of domestic administration, the nature and number of the Vice President's executive duties are, as a practical matter, within the discretion of the President, with the recent and important exception of statutory membership on the National Security Council. Since the Vice President is not prevented either by the Constitution or by any general statute from acting as the President's delegate, the range of transferrable duties would seem to be co-extensive with the scope of the President's power of delegation. 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/20766/download.

  3/9/1961

• 2/28/1961

  Authority of the President to Designate Another Member as Chairman of the Federal Power Commission

  While a substantial argument can be made to support the President's authority to change the existing designation of the Chairman of the Federal Power Commission and to designate another member of that agency as Chairman, sufficient doubt exists so as to preclude a reliable prediction as to the result should the matter be judicially tested. Apparently the only remedies the present Chairman would have, if his designation should be recalled and another member of the Commission designated as Chairman, would be to bring an action in the nature of quo warranto or sue for the additional $500-a-year annual salary of the Chairman in the Court of Claims. Since the Chairman has no functions additional to those of any other commissioner affecting parties appearing before the Commission, their rights could not be affected even if he should win such a suit. 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/20761/download.

  2/28/1961

• 1/25/1961

  Authority of the President to Blockade Cuba

  Under international law, the President may institute a blockade of Cuba as an incident to a state of war, and conceivably a blockade could also be justified as a necessary measure of defense. The legality of the blockade could probably be tested by Cuba, by other countries, and by their nationals in the courts of the United States, and Cuba and other countries could raise the legality issue before the United Nations and the Organization of American States. It is not clear whether this issue could be raised before the International Court of Justice. 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/20756/download.

  1/25/1961

• 8/10/1960

  President's Authority to Deal with Racial Discrimination in Housing Projects Constructed with the Aid of the Federal Government

  This opinion concluded that the President had the authority to direct all federal housing agencies to deny funding to “any housing or housing project in connection with which persons are excluded on the basis of their race, color, or creed,” despite the fact that legislative proposals to eliminate discrimination in federal housing failed in 1949, 1953, and 1960.

  5/16/2022

• 5/10/1960

  Federal Authority to Cope with Possible Armed Clash Between Local Police Forces and Negro Demonstrators

  This opinion discussed the federal government’s power to address “a tense racial situation in Birmingham, Alabama” resulting from “claimed racial inequality” and “widespread demonstrations in various parts of the South, particularly aimed at racial segregation in public restaurants.” The opinion explained that the federal government might be able to seek injunctive relief from the courts to address police force against protestors, even without specific statutory authorization. The opinion also advised that police offices might be prosecuted if their “real purpose was to deprive Negro demonstrators of their Fourteenth Amendment rights to freedom of assembly,” although it noted that prosecution may not be effective.

  5/16/2022