The OLC
Astrid Da Silva

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 161–170 of 2202

  • Effect of Appropriations Rider on Access of DOJ Inspector General to Certain Protected Information

    Section 540 of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016, effectively prohibits the Department of Justice, for the remainder of fiscal year 2016, from denying the Department's Office of the Inspector General ("OIG") timely access to materials requested by OIG, or preventing or impeding OIG's access to such materials, pursuant to the Federal Wiretap Act (Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968); Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure; or section 626 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. As a result, the Department may (and must) disregard the limitations in those statutes in making disclosures to OIG for the remainder of the fiscal year. 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/olc/file/2016-04-27-approp-doj-ig-access/download.

    4/27/2016

  • Article 17 Bis of the Air Transport Agreement with the European Union

    Article 17 bis of the Air Transport Agreement Between the United States of America and the European Community and Its Member States does not provide an independent basis upon which the United States may deny a permit to an air carrier of a Party to the Agreement if that carrier is otherwise qualified to receive such a permit. 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/olc/file/2016-04-14-art-17-bis/download.

    4/14/2016

  • Continuation of Terminal Leave for Military Officer Appointed to Federal Civilian Position

    An active duty military officer on terminal leave who meets the requirements of 5 U.S.C. § 5334a may continue on terminal leave status after his appointment or election to a position covered by 10 U.S.C. § 973(b)(2)(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/olc/file/2016-03-24-terminal-leave/download.

    3/24/2016

  • Special Government Employee Serving as Paid Consultant to Saudi Company

    A special government employee, retained to provide advice on behalf of the Department of Commerce to Middle Eastern countries that are reforming and harmonizing their laws, may accept a paid consulting position with a Saudi energy company without violating the Emoluments Clause, U.S. Const. art. I, § 9, cl. 8, because he does not hold an "Office of Profit or Trust under" the United States. 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/olc/file/2016-01-13-kacare-emols/download.

    1/13/2016

  • Permitting Part-Time Employees to Work Regularly Scheduled Weeks of 33 to 39 Hours

    The statutes governing federal employment permit federal agencies to schedule part-time employees to work regularly scheduled weeks of 33 to 39 hours. The Federal Employees Part-Time Career Employment Act of 1978 does not limit agencies' preexisting authority to schedule part-time employees to work any number of hours per week less than 40. 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/olc/file/2015-12-31-part-time-empls/download.

    12/31/2015

  • Access of Department of Justice Inspector General to Certain Information Protected from Disclosure by Statute

    Department of Justice officials may disclose information protected by the Federal Wiretap Act (Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968), Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and section 626 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act to the Department's Office of the Inspector General ("OIG") in connection with many, but not all, of OIG's investigations and reviews. Section 6(a)(1) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 does not supersede the limitations on disclosure contained in Title III, Rule 6(e), and section 626. Section 218 of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, also does not supersede the limitations on disclosure contained in Title III, Rule 6(e), and section 626. 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/olc/file/2015-07-20-doj-ig-access/download.

    7/20/2015

  • Disclosure of Employee Appraisals to a Member of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

    In the circumstances presented here, the organic statute of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board requires the Chairman to grant a requesting Board member access to written performance appraisals of Senior Executive Service employees. In these circumstances, the Privacy Act does not bar the disclosure of those appraisals to the requesting Board member. 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/olc/file/2015-05-21-dnfsb-empl-apprais/download.

    5/21/2015

  • Targeted Airstrikes Against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

    The President had the constitutional authority to order targeted airstrikes in Iraq against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant without prior congressional authorization. The President had reasonably determined that these military operations would further sufficiently important national interests. A combination of three relevant national interests—protecting American lives and property; assisting an ally or strategic partner at its request; and protecting endangered populations against humanitarian atrocities, including possible genocide—supported the President's constitutional authority to order the operations without prior congressional authorization. The anticipated nature, scope, and duration of the military operations did not rise to the level of a "war" within the meaning of the Declaration of War Clause. 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/olc/file/2014-12-30-airstrikes-isil/download.

    12/30/2014

  • Prioritizing and Deferring Removal of Certain Aliens Unlawfully Present in the United States

    The Department of Homeland Security's proposed policy to prioritize the removal of certain aliens unlawfully present in the United States would be a permissible exercise of DHS's discretion to enforce the immigration laws. DHS's proposed deferred action program for parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents would also be a permissible exercise of DHS's discretion to enforce the immigration laws. DHS's proposed deferred action program for parents of recipients of deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program would not be a permissible exercise of DHS's enforcement discretion. 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/olc/file/2014-11-19-dapa-daca-wd/download.

    11/19/2014

  • EEOC Authority to Order Federal Agency to Pay for Breach of Settlement Agreement

    Based on principles of sovereign immunity, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lacks authority to order the Social Security Administration to pay a monetary award as a remedy for breach of a settlement agreement entered to resolve a dispute under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 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/olc/file/2014-08-13-eeoc-auth-agcy-breach/download.

    8/13/2014

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