The OLC
Astrid Da Silva

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 811820 of 2202

  • Availability of the Judgment Fund for Settlements With Foreign Countries

    If the United States enters into appropriate settlement agreements with foreign countries whose nationals were victims of the 1988 Iran Air incident, the Attorney General would have the authority to certify such settlements for payment from the Judgment Fund, subject to approval by the Comptroller General. The Comptroller General's role is ministerial. 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/24261/download.

    7/10/1989

  • Application of the Posse Comitatus Act to Assistance to the United States National Central Bureau

    The assistance to the United States National Central Bureau by military agencies that is permitted by the Posse Comitatus Act is not limited to investigations into violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Additional situations under which assistance is permitted is discussed in the memorandum. 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/24256/download.

    7/3/1989

  • Deportation Proceedings for Joseph Patrick Thomas Doherty

    The Attorney General disapproved the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals to permit the respondent to reopen his deportation proceedings in order to apply for relief from deportation and to redesignate his country of deportation. 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/24146/download.

    6/30/1989

  • Reimbursement for Detail of Judge Advocate General Corps Personnel to a United States Attorney's Office

    The Economy Act requires the Department of Defense to be reimbursed for the detail of Judge Advocate General Corps attorneys to a United States Attorney's Office. The authonty of the Director of National Drug Control Policy temporarily to reassign federal personnel under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 does not displace the requirements of the Economy 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/24251/download.

    6/27/1989

  • Use of Department of Defense Drug-Detecting Dogs to Aid in Civilian Law Enforcement

    Lending Department of Defense drug-detecting dogs to civilian law enforcement officials and training the officials to handle the dogs is permitted by the Posse Comitatus Act. The use of Department of Defense personnel to search, but not seize, materials is permissible if there are no persons present with whom a confrontation might arise. The restrictions of 10 U S.C. § 375 are inapplicable to the Navy and the Marine Corps. Therefore, the use of Naval and Marine drug-detecting dogs lies within the discretion of the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Defense. 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/24246/download.

    6/23/1989

  • Authority of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to Override International Law in Extraterritorial Law Enforcement Activities

    At the direction of the President or the Attorney General, the FBI may use its statutory authority to investigate and arrest individuals for violating United States law, even if the FBI's actions contravene customary international law. The President, acting through the Attorney General, has the inherent constitutional authority to deploy the FBI to investigate and arrest individuals for violating United States law, even if those actions contravene customary international law. Extraterritorial law enforcement activities that are authorized by domestic law are not barred even if they contravene unexecuted treaties or treaty provisions, such as Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter. An arrest that is inconsistent with international or foreign law does not violate the Fourth Amendment. 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/24241/download.

    6/21/1989

  • Congressional Requests for Confidential Executive Branch Information

    This memorandum summarizes the principles and practices governing congressional requests for confidential executive branch information. 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/24236/download.

    6/19/1989

  • Authority of the Customs Service to Offer Rewards for Information Concerning the Whereabouts of Indicted Drug Traffickers

    The Customs Service is not authorized to offer financial rewards for original information on the whereabouts in the United States of high-level, international drug traffickers who are under indictment. 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/24231/download.

    6/15/1989

  • Application of Vacancy Act Limitations to Presidential Designation of an Acting Special Counsel

    The Vacancy Act does not circumscribe the President's express authority pursuant to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 to designate an Acting Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices. 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/24226/download.

    6/8/1989

  • Constitutionality of Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Imposition of Civil Penalties on the Air Force

    In the absence of Presidential intervention to review its decision, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission may constitutionally issue an order imposing civil penalties on the Department of the Air Force under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Although Congress may not deprive the President of an opportunity to review a decision made by an agency subject to his supervisory authority, the President is not constitutionally required to review all such decisions before they may be lawfully implemented. Because the Atomic Energy Act gives the Attorney General exclusive authonty and discretion to enforce civil penalties imposed under the Act, an interagency dispute regarding the collection of such penalties would properly be resolved within the executive branch rather than through interagency litigation. 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/24221/download.

    6/8/1989

Related Content