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 1661–1670 of 2202
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Interpretation of the Grandfather Clause in 18 U.S.C. § 709
Interpretation of the Grandfather Clause in 18 U.S.C. § 709—Use of Word "Federal" in Name of Insurance Company 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/21016/download.
4/11/1977
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Chinese Government’s Assumption of Expenses of U.S. Delegation
This opinion concludes that there is no constitutional or statutory obstacle to allowing China to furnish an official delegation visiting China with lodging, meals, and transportation. 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/936066/download.
4/11/1977
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Application of the Hatch Act to the Vice President's Staff
Application of the Hatch Act to the Vice President's 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/21011/download.
4/6/1977
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Service of Assistant Section Chief as Reporter on American Law Institute Project
Standards of Conduct—Service of Assistant Section Chief as Reporter on American Law Institute Project 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/21006/download.
4/1/1977
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Authority of Bureau of Prisons Physicians to Perform Autopsies
Authority of Bureau of Prisons Physicians to Perform Autopsies 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/21001/download.
3/31/1977
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Authority of the FBI to undertake Domestic Security Investigations
This memo analyzed the authority for the FBI to undertake domestic security investigations for purposes of crime prevention. It concluded that, though there was no express statutory authority for those investigations, the Supreme Court had recognized implicit constitutional authority to prevent crime and collect intelligence for that purpose, and that existing statutes permitted the Attorney General to authorize such investigations.
9/2/2022
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Liability of Government for Retroactive Veterans' Benefits Where Discharges Are Upgraded
Liability of Government for Retroactive Veterans' Benefits Where Discharges Are Upgraded 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/20996/download.
3/29/1977
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Effect of Presidential Pardon on Aliens Who Left the Country to Avoid Military Service
Effect of Presidential Pardon on Aliens Who Left the Country to Avoid Military Service 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/20991/download.
3/24/1977
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Employment of relatives who will serve without Compensation
This opinion compiles previous OLC opinions on the several proposed appointments of President Carter's relatives to agencies under his jurisdicition. The memo reiterates the conclusion of those prior opinions that the anti-nepotism statute applies in situations in which the relative will serve without compensation. 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/1009461/download.
3/23/1977
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Basis for Federal Jurisdiction in Washington, D.C., Hostage Situation
Washington, D.C., Hostage Situation: Basis for Federal Jurisdiction 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/20986/download.
3/22/1977