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 401–410 of 2202
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Applicability of Ineligibility Clause to Appointment of Congressman Tony P. Hall
The Ineligibility Clause of the Constitution would not bar the President from appointing Congressman Tony P. Hall as United States Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, with the rank of Ambassador. 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/19066/download.
5/30/2002
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Application of Conflict of Interest Rules to Appointees Who Have Not Begun Service
Conflict of interest rules first apply when an appointee begins the duties of his 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/19071/download.
5/8/2002
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Authority of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board to Delegate Power
Although the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board may not name an "Acting Chairperson," it may delegate administrative and executive authority to a single member while the position of chairperson is vacant. 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/19076/download.
4/19/2002
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Swift Justice Authorization Act
This opinion reviews the Swift Justice Authorization Act ("SJAA") proposed by Senator Patrick Leahy, which authorizes the president to detain suspected terrorists and conduct military commission trials. The opinion conludes that the SJAA is not only unnecessary, because the president already has that authority as commander in chief, but also unconstitutional, since Congress lacks the authority to set the terms and conditions on the president's authority as commander in chief. This opinion was partially rescinded in 2009. 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/docs/memojusticeauthorizationact0482002.pdf.
4/8/2002
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Whether Section 319(b) of the Patriot Act Includes Authority for the Issuance of Grand Jury Subpoenas to Foreign Banks That Maintain Correspondent Accounts in the United States
This opinion concludes that section 319(b) of the Patriot Act does not allow a grand jury to subpoena foreign banks that maintain a correspondent account in the United States, since the Patriot Act authorizes the issuance of subpoenas only by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General, not by a federal grand jury. 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/docs/memo-section319-patriotact.pdf.
4/6/2002
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Centralizing Border Control Policy Under the Supervision of the Attorney General
In general, the President may not transfer the functions of an agency statutorily created within one Cabinet department to another Cabinet department without an act of Congress. The President may not delegate his presidential authority to supervise and control the executive departments to a particular member of the Cabinet where no statutory authority exists to do so. The President may exercise his own power to establish a comprehensive border control policy for the federal government and direct a single Cabinet member to lead and coordinate the efforts of all Cabinet agencies to implement that policy. 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/19081/download.
3/20/2002
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Role of Legal Guardians or Proxies in Naturalization Proceedings
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requires the Immigration and Naturalization Service as a reasonable accommodation to permit a legal guardian or proxy to represent a mentally disabled applicant in naturalization proceedings. 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/19086/download.
3/13/2002
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The President's power as Commander in Chief to transfer captured terrorists to the control and custody of foreign nations
This opinion considers the legality of transferring captured members of the Taliban militia, al Qaeda, or other terrorist organizations from U.S. custody to other countries. The opinion concludes that while transferring detainees held outside of the U.S. would not violate the Constitution or relevant international law, such as the Geneva Convention and the Torture Convention, a more complex set of rules would apply if detainees are held within the territory of the United States in the future. This opinion was partially rescinded in 2009. 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/docs/memorandum03132002.pdf.
3/13/2002
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Application of 18 U.S.C. § 203 to Former Employee's Receipt of Attorney's Fees in Qui Tam Action
Title 18, section 203, U.S. Code, would not bar a former federal employee from sharing in attorney's fees in a qui tam action, provided that those fees, calculated under the lodestar formula, are prorated such that the former employee does not receive any fees attributable to his time in the government. 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/19091/download.
2/28/2002
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Potential Legal Constraints Applicable to Interrogations of Persons Captured by U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan
This opinion examines whether Miranda v. Arizona (1966) poses legal constraints on the admissibility of statements made by Afghan detainees during interrogation in U.S. Court. The report concludes that, while statements made during custodial interrogation without Miranda warnings are admissible in military proceedings, the admissibility of these statements in federal courts depends on whether the interrogation serves the purpose of regulating the practices of law enforcement or obtaining information for military operations and intelligence. 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/docs/memo-constraints-feb2002.pdf.
2/26/2002