Reading Room Document

Constitutional Limits on "Contracting Out" Department of Justice Functions under OMB Circular A-76

Litigation on behalf of the United States must be conducted or closely supervised by officers of the United States who have been appointed in conformity with the Appointments Clause and who are under the supervision of the Attorney General and the President. Certain program analyst, program monitor and historical research support positions in the Department of Justice do not involve governmental authority that can only be exercised by officers of the United States, but instead involve information gathering and reporting duties which may constitutionally be performed by private parties on a contract basis. 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/23386/download.

April 27, 1990