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 291–300 of 2202
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Use of Appropriated Funds to Provide Light Refreshments to Non-Federal Participants at EPA Conferences
Light refreshments are "subsistence expenses" to which the prohibition of 31 U.S.C. § 1345 applies, and various statutory provisions that authorize the Environmental Protection Agency to hold meetings, conduct training, and provide grants do not satisfy the "specifically provided by law" exception to the prohibition. A violation of section 1345 does not, by its own force, also violate the Anti-Deficiency 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/451186/download.
4/5/2007
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Status of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Under 18 U.S.C. § 207(c)
A former senior employee of the Securities and Exchange Commission communicating with the Commission on behalf of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board during the year after his service as a senior employee at the Commission ends would not be communicating on behalf of the United States and therefore 18 U.S.C. § 207(c) would apply to bar such a communication. 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/451181/download.
3/30/2007
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Legality of Alternative Organ Donation Practices Under 42 U.S.C. § 274e
Two alternative kidney donation practices, in which a living donor who is incompatible with his intended recipient donates a kidney to a stranger in exchange for the intended recipient's receiving a kidney from another donor or increased priority on a waiting list, do not violate the prohibition on transfers of organs for "valuable consideration" in 42 U.S.C. § 274e. 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/451176/download.
3/28/2007
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Presidential Signing Statements
This testimony discusses the purpose and history of presidential signing statements. 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/451171/download.
1/31/2007
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Days of Service by Special Government Employees
The longstanding interpretation of the Executive Branch that service by a special government employee during any part of a day counts as a full day under 18 U.S.C. §§ 203 and 205, which impose greater conflict of interest restrictions after a special government employee works 60 days, is reaffirmed. 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/451166/download.
1/26/2007
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Applicability of the Miscellaneous Receipts Act to Personal Convenience Fees Paid to a Contractor by Attendees at Agency-Sponsored Conferences
"Personal convenience" fees that attendees at agency-sponsored conferences pay to private contractors are not subject to the Miscellaneous Receipts 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/451121/download.
11/22/2006
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Jurisdiction of Integrity Committee When Inspector General Leaves Office After Referral of Allegations
The Integrity Committee has authority to review, refer for investigation, and report findings with respect to administrative allegations of wrongdoing made against a former Inspector General when the Committee receives the allegations during the subject's tenure as Inspector General, even if the subject later leaves office. 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/451116/download.
9/5/2006
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Application of the Detainee Treatment Act to Conditions of Confinement at Central Intetiigence Agency Detention Facilities
This opinion, which is partially redacted, examines if the six standard conditions of confinement at the CIA detention facilities in question (blindfolding, shaving, solitary confinement, playing white noise, illuminating the cells, and leg shackles) are legal under the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 ("DTA"). The opinion concludes that these conditions are consistent with the DTA, since the relevant standard is the "shock the conscience" test under the Fifth Amendment, and none of the six conditions, viewed separately or collectively, shocks the conscience. 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/file/886291/download.
8/31/2006
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Application of the Government Corporation Control Act and the Miscellaneous Receipts Act to the Canadian Softwood Lumber Settlement Agreement
An aspect of the proposed agreement between the United States and Canada settling various disputes regarding trade in softwood lumber products, in which duties now held by the United States would be distributed by a private foundation to "meritorious initiatives" related to, among other things, timber-reliant communities, would not violate the Government Corporation Control Act or the Miscellaneous Receipts 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/451111/download.
8/22/2006
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Whether a Presidential Pardon Expunges Judicial and Executive Branch Records of a Crime
A presidential pardon granted under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution does not automatically expunge Judicial or Executive Branch records relating to the conviction or underlying offense. 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/451106/download.
8/11/2006