Showing 1321–1330 of 2202

• 6/5/1980

  Use of Law Enforcement Assistance Administration Program Grant Funds for Administrative Purposes

  Funds originally awarded to states by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration for programmatic purposes, under Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, may be used to supplement exhausted administrative funds. A lump sum appropriation can be used for any purpose consistent with the purposes of the authorizing statute, and an agency's representation to Congress as to how it proposes to allocate appropriated funds is legally binding on the agency only to the extent its proposed allocation finds its way into the language of the appropriation statute itself. 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/24511/download.

  6/5/1980

• 5/30/1980

  Procedural Provisions for Imposing the Death Penalty in Pending Legislation

  The following memorandum comments on proposed legislation to bring the federal death penalty provisions into compliance with the constitutional standards identified by the Supreme Court in Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972) and subsequent decisions. It identifies certain procedural provisions as likely to be subject to constitutional challenge, and indicates how the issues involved are likely to be resolved under existing case law. Among the issues discussed are: (1) whether the Constitution's requirement of a unanimous jury extends to the sentencing phase of a capital case; (2) whether the jury's consideration of mitigating factors may be limited; (3) whether evidence of aggravating factors may be admitted regardless of its admissibility under the rules of evidence; (4) whether the language specifying aggravating and mitigating factors is unconstitutionally vague; (5) whether the death penalty may be imposed for nonhomicidal crimes; and (6) whether appellate review only at the request of the defendant is an adequate safeguard against the random or arbitrary imposition of the death penalty. 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/24501/download.

  5/30/1980

• 5/29/1980

  Constitutionality of Legislation Extending Federal Grants to Students at Nonpublic Schools

  Views expressed in earlier opinion, that extension of Basic Educational Opportunity Grants to students enrolled in nonpublic elementary and secondary schools would violate Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, reconsidered and reaffirmed. 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/24496/download.

  5/29/1980

• 5/29/1980

  Use of Military Personnel to Maintain Order Among Cuban Parolees on Military Bases

  The prohibition in the Posse Comitatus Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1385, against using military personnel to execute the law, was not intended to restrict the military's ability to maintain order among civilians on its own reservations. Military personnel may take any steps deemed by the base commander to be reasonably necessary to ensure that Cuban parolees housed on a military base do not breach the peace of the base, and may restrict them to areas of the base specifically designated for their use; however, any claim of a parolee of a legal right to depart the base should be evaluated by non-military law enforcement personnel. 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/24491/download.

  5/29/1980

• 5/17/1980

  Emergency Authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services Under 42 U.S.C. § 243(c)(2)

  Under § 311 of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. § 243(c)(2), which authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, at the request of the appropriate state or local authority, to extend temporary assistance to states and localities in meeting health emergencies, the Public Health Service may provide relocation assistance to residents living near the Love Canal for a period not to exceed 45 days, for purposes of assessing and dealing with the health emergency in that area. 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/24486/download.

  5/17/1980

• 5/13/1980

  Department of Justice Views on the Bumpers Amendment to the Administrative Procedure Act

  The following letter to the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, initially drafted in the Office of Legal Counsel at the request of the Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs, presents the Department of Justice's views on amendments to the Administrative Procedure Act's (APA's) provisions for judicial review of agency action proposed by Senator Bumpers. In essence, the so-called Bumpers amendment sought to achieve greater congressional control over federal agency actions by giving the federal courts broad and relatively undefined new p owers in reviewing agency rules. The letter points out that the proposed amendments to the APA would transfer to the federal courts responsibility for making policy choices now made by agencies, and that they would disrupt the regulatory process in major and unforeseeable ways. 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/24481/download.

  5/13/1980

• 5/12/1980

  Disclosure of Court-Authorized Interceptions of Wire Communications to Congressional Committees

  An officer of the Department of Justice may disclose tapes of court-authorized interceptions of wire communications to congressional committees without a court order, as long as such disclosure is appropriate to the proper performance of his official duties. Generally, providing Congress with information in order to help facilitate its constitutionally mandated legislative role is part of the legal obligation of the Executive Branch; however, it is also the Executive's responsibility to determine when such disclosure would impede its performance of other responsibilities, and thus be inappropriate. 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/24476/download.

  5/12/1980

• 5/8/1980

  Applicability of the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 to Buildings Financed with Federal Funds

  Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 applies only where federal grants or loans are used to finance the design, construction, or alteration of a building, and does not apply where a building is merely leased with federal funds. While the text and legislative history of the 1968 Act are ambiguous as to whether its applicability depends on actual issuance of standards for design, construction, or alteration, both subsequent amendments to the Act and consistent administrative interpretation—support the conclusion that the Act applies if such standards are authorized under the law authorizing the grant or loan, even if they have not been issued. 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/24471/download.

  5/8/1980

• 5/8/1980

  Application of the Privacy Act to the Personnel Records of Employees in the Copyright Office

  The Copyright Office is in the legislative branch, and is not an "agency" within the coverage of the Privacy Act. It is constitutionally permissible for an officer of the legislative branch, such as the Register of Copyrights, to perform executive functions, as long as the officer is appointed in accordance with the Appointments Clause. The personnel records of the Copyright Office are not subject to the Privacy Act by virtue of 17 U.S.C. § 701(d), because personnel actions taken by the Register of Copyrights are an incident of the personnel administration of the Library of 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 www.justice.gov/file/24466/download.

  5/8/1980

• 5/7/1980

  Severance Agreement Between a Prospective Federal Appointee and His Law Firm

  Severance arrangements between a prospective appointee to federal office and his law firm do not result in an unlawful supplementation of his federal salary in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 209, notwithstanding the fact that they deviate in certain respects from the terms of the law firm's partnership agreement. 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/24461/download.

  5/7/1980