Reading Room Document
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 This opinion was partially rescinded in 2009.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.
The OLC's Opinions
Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit