The OLC's Opinions
Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit
This Reading Room is the most comprehensive public database of 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 all unclassified OLC opinions written between 1945 and February 15, 1994. Those indexes are also available as a comprehensive list here and in .csv format here.
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 2101–2110 of 2189
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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
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Extraterritorial effect of criminal laws of the United States upon its citizens for acts committed outside the United States
5/16/2022
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Responsibility of the President to Sign Bills Passed by the House and the Senate
This opinion concludes that President Eisenhower can sign his initials, rather than his full name, in approving bills passed by Congress. 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/page/file/935761/download.
8/19/1958
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Authority of President to Keep Troops in Little Rock
This memo concluded that the President had authority to maintain the presence of federal troops in Little Rock following the Little Rock Nine crisis absent any specific court order if he concluded there were a “high probability of serious disorder if the troops were removed.” If, however, a court ruled that troops were not needed, the opinion advised that the President’s maintenance of troops would present “grave constitutional questions . . . which should, if at all possible, be avoided.”
5/16/2022
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Constitutionality of Enrolled Bill Restricting the Withdrawal of Public Land for National Defense
The constitutionality of an enrolled bill providing that withdrawals of public lands for national defense purposes shall not become effective until approved by act of Congress involves a question as to the relationship between the President's constitutional powers as Commander in Chief and the constitutional authority of Congress over the public lands. The exception that would make the enrolled bill's restrictions inapplicable in time of national emergency declared by the President may be adequate to resolve whatever doubt there may be as to the constitutionality of the bill in favor of a conclusion that it makes sufficient provision for the exercise in time of national emergency of the President's powers as Commander in Chief. 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/20751/download.
2/24/1958
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Historical survey regarding gifts from foreign monarchs and governments to Government officers
This opinion examines the history of regulations on U.S. officials receiving decorations or gifts from foreign governments, from the Articles of Confederation to Executive Order No. 7577 in 1937. 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/page/file/935756/download.
2/18/1958
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"Necessary and Proper" Clause of the Constitution
5/16/2022
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The Civil Rights Act of 1957
This memo described the legislative, procedural, and political background that led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which created the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, added new protections for voting rights, and gave the Attorney General authority to litigate or intervene in lawsuits to protect voting rights.
5/16/2022
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Searches and Seizures
5/16/2022
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Applicability of Executive Privilege to Independent Regulatory Agencies
A case cannot be made for absolute exclusion of the so-called independent regulatory agencies from the doctrine of executive privilege. Although free from executive control in the exercise of quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial functions, independent regulatory agencies frequently exercise important functions executive in nature. As to the latter functions, the doctrine of executive privilege is as much applicable to regulatory commissions as to the executive departments and officers of 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/20746/download.
11/5/1957