Showing 891–900 of 2202

• 7/8/1987

  Resolution of Legal Dispute Between the Department of Energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority

  The Tennessee Valley Authority is a part of the Executive Branch. The members of its board of directors serve at the pleasure of the President. In a legal dispute between two Executive agencies whose heads serve at the pleasure of the President, Executive Order No. 12146 requires that the dispute be referred to the Attorney General for resolution. 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/23956/download.

  7/8/1987

• 7/1/1987

  Use of Amnesty Application Information

  This memo requested further information about the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s legal basis for regulations concerning the use of amnesty application information.

  9/2/2022

• 6/15/1987

  Applicability of 18 U.S.C. § 219 to Retired Foreign Service Officers

  A retired foreign service officer is not a public official of the United States subject to 18 U.S.C. § 219, which provides criminal penalties for conduct that would usually constitute a violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, Article I, § 9, cl. 8. 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/23951/download.

  6/15/1987

• 6/8/1987

  Damages and Arbitration Provisions in Proposed Amendments to the Fair Housing Act

  Certain proposed amendments to the Fair Housing Act would provide that parties may voluntarily submit their dispute to an arbitrator empowered to impose compensatory and punitive damages (as opposed to equitable relief or restitution). These amendments would be permissible under the Seventh Amendment because they amount to a waiver of a right, that would otherwise obtain, to a jury trial on compensatory and punitive damages. The amendments also comport with the strictures of Article III. The Supreme Court has held that Article III strictures cannot be waived, but the Court also has found that purely voluntary procedures severely minimize any Article III concerns. Other aspects of the proposed amendments to the Fair Housing Act, which authorize mandatory proceedings before an arbitrator or administrative law judge with the power to award compensatory and punitive damages, would likely not survive scrutiny under the Seventh Amendment and Article III. The cause of action created by the Fair Housing Act appears to be derived from a common law action that is historically within the exclusive preserve of Article III courts operating with a jury. Furthermore, the right at issue is private in nature, in that it is intended to determine the liability of one individual to another. In addition, the housing market is not a specialized area of administrative regulation by the Federal Government. Finally, the Fair Housing Act setting does not seem to involve an imperative necessity for Congress to choose an administrative remedy, as demonstrated by the fact that judicial proceedings would remain available to plaintiffs and there would be only minimal differences in the relief available in the administrative and judicial forums. Under the Supreme Court's admittedly confusing and inconsistent precedents, these factors suggest that the proposed mandatory administrative proceedings would not comport with Article III or the Seventh 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/23946/download.

  6/8/1987

• 5/26/1987

  Constitutionality of Proposed Budget Process Reform Legislation

  Proposed legislation that would assign the Congressional Budget Office the duty to determine whether a spending bill would exceed current spending limits, thereby requiring a supermajority (two-thirds) vote in each House of Congress for passage, is constitutional. Such a delegation would not raise problems under INS v. Chadha, because Congress may by rule require a supermajority majority vote in each House for passage of certain legislation under Art. I, § 5, cl. 2. The proposed legislation may also subject spending bills passed in this manner to rescission by the President. With respect to entitlements, however, Congress must enact legislation specifically making the expenditure of a certain percentage of the appropriated funds non-mandatory before such rescission authority may be exercised. 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/23941/download.

  5/26/1987

• 4/23/1987

  Temporary Workers Under § 301 of the Immigration Reform and Control Act

  "Temporary" work under § 301 of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which permits aliens to enter the United States temporarily to perform "temporary" services or labor, refers to any job where the employer's need for the employee is temporary. The nature of the underlying job and, in particular, whether the underlying job itself can be described as permanent or temporary, is irrelevant. 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/23936/download.

  4/23/1987

• 4/9/1987

  Relevance of Senate Ratification History to Treaty Interpretation

  The most relevant extrinsic evidence of a treaty's meaning are exchanges between the parties negotiating it, i.e., the President and the foreign power. The portions of the ratification record entitled to the greatest weight are representations of the Executive, who is in essence the draftsman of the treaty. The Senate's advice and consent function was designed by the Framers as a check on the President's treaty-making power, and the Senate's deliberations cannot be ignored altogether. Nonetheless, in all but the most unusual cases, the ratification record is not the determinative source of evidence as to the treaty's meaning under domestic 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/23931/download.

  4/9/1987

• 3/27/1987

  Whether the Agency for International Development (AID) legally may provide funds for the training of Afghan journalists who are involved in the USIA's Afghan Media Project

  This memo concluded that AID could legally use its general appropriation to fund the training of Afghan journalists who were involved in the USIA's Afghan Media Project and that such funding did not violate the so-called “specific-general” rule.

  9/2/2022

• 3/6/1987

  Constitutionality of Proposed Legislation Requiring Renomination and Reconfirmation of Executive Branch Officers Upon the Expiration of a Presidential Term

  A bill prohibiting the heads of Executive and Military Departments and certain other Executive officers from remaining in their positions during a subsequent Presidential term unless renominated by the President and reconfirmed by the Senate would, if applied to officers appointed before the bill was enacted, unconstitutionally interfere with the President's appointment and removal powers. Even were the bill limited to prospective effect, it would be subject to serious constitutional doubt as contrary to the Constitution's placement of the Executive power in the President. 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/23926/download.

  3/6/1987

• 2/20/1987

  Proposed Legislation Providing Authority for the Armed Forces to Recover Remains of Persons Deceased as a Result of Armed Forces Operations

  Congress' authority to make rules for the United States armed forces under the Constitution, art. I, § 8, cl. 14, allows it to enact legislation governing the recover of the remains of members of the armed forces. Any grant to the armed forces of jurisdiction over the remains of nonmilitary persons killed as a result of armed forces operational activities, however, may exceed Congress' constitutional authority. 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/23921/download.

  2/20/1987