The OLC's Opinions
Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit
This Reading Room is a comprehensive database of published 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 unclassified OLC opinions written between 1945 and February 15, 1994 (these indexes were created by the OLC and intended to be comprehensive). We have compiled those indexes into a single list here and in .csv format here. This Reading Room also contains an index of all classified OLC opinions issued between 1974 and 2021, except those classified or codeword-classified at a level higher than Top Secret (the OLC created this index, too, and intended it to be comprehensive).
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 1601–1610 of 2202
-
Members of Congress Holding Commissions in the Armed Forces Reserves
Members of Congress Holding Reserve Commissions 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/21216/download.
10/18/1977
-
Revised Procedures for the Administration of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act
In this memo, the OLC reviewed proposed revised guidelines for the administration of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The OLC concluded that the proposed guidelines needed to be modified and revised before they were submitted to the attorney general. The memo offered advice on several major modifications or legal issues, including clarifying the treatment of discrimination on the basis of language and adding examples of political party activities that fell within the scope of Section 5, as well as a list of typographical errors and stylistic changes.
9/2/2022
-
Application of Freedom of Information Act to Private Letters Written to the President
Privacy—Persons Writing to the President—Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552e (1976)) 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/21371/download.
10/17/1977
-
Personal Tort Liability of Regional Fishery Management Council Members and Staff
Personal Tort Liability of Regional Fishery Management Council Members and Staff 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/21211/download.
10/14/1977
-
Impact of Panama Canal Zone Treaty on the Filling of the Vacancy in the Office of the District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of the Canal Zone
Impact of Panama Canal Zone Treaty on the Filling of the Vacancy in the Office of the District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of the Canal Zone 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/21206/download.
10/5/1977
-
Role of the Solicitor General
Role of the Solicitor General 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/21201/download.
9/29/1977
-
Contractor's Payment of Employees' Membership Dues for Private Clubs With Discriminatory Practices
Dues-Paying Practices of Private Clubs—Discriminatory Practices 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/21196/download.
9/27/1977
-
Transfer of Watergate Special Prosecution Force Records Containing Tax Return Information to the National Archives
Transfer of Watergate Special Prosecution Force Records to the National Archives—Income Tax Information—26 U.S.C. § 6103(a) 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/21191/download.
9/27/1977
-
Constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. § 1302 as Applied to Newspaper Advertisements by the Maryland Lottery Commission
Constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. § 1302—Lotteries 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/21186/download.
9/26/1977
-
Use of White House Funds for Payment of Consultants to Assist Presidential Nominee to Regulatory Agency at Confirmation Hearing
Consultants—Employment to Assist Presidential Nominee at His Confirmation Hearing (5 U.S.C. § 3190, 31 U.S.C. § 628) 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/21366/download.
9/26/1977