Showing 2131–2140 of 2214

• 11/5/1957

  Applicability of Executive Privilege to Independent Regulatory Agencies

  A case cannot be made for absolute exclusion of the so-called independent regulatory agencies from the doctrine of executive privilege. Although free from executive control in the exercise of quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial functions, independent regulatory agencies frequently exercise important functions executive in nature. As to the latter functions, the doctrine of executive privilege is as much applicable to regulatory commissions as to the executive departments and officers of the government. 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/20746/download.

  11/5/1957

• 10/15/1957

  Appointees to the Civil Rights Commission and Possible Conflicts of Interest

  The opinion concludes that President Eisenhower may constitutionally and legally appoint candidates to the Civil Rights Commission during a congressional recess. However, the opinion raises concerns about the proposed appointments, including the implication for conflict-of-interest statutes, dual employment statutes, political backlash and perceived impropriety. 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/935726/download.

  10/15/1957

• 6/24/1957

  Access to Classified Information for Scholarly Research

  The OLC was asked to clarify advice given by the attorney general to the State Department that analyzed classification practices under Executive Order 10501 as it pertained to the disclosure of classified defense information for scholarly research. The attorney general’s memorandum had concluded that the Executive Order did not preclude access by government outsiders, including scholars, but explained that access could only be granted “upon the basis of a finding that such access would be in the interest of promoting national defense.” The OLC concluded that the State Department misconstrued prior advice to mean that classified information should be released whenever it is in the public welfare to do so, rather than when it is in the interest of promoting national defense. The OLC reiterated that nothing in the Executive Order could be interpreted as authorizing access to classified information by scholars whose projects do not have a direct relationship to defense.

  5/16/2022

• 6/12/1957

  Scope and Effect of Jencks Decision

  The OLC summarized the scope of the decision in Jencks v. United States, calling the result "highly unfortunate." The opinion also answered several questions posed by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, including “whether the rule applie[d] to all government witnesses, not merely informants.” The OLC concluded that it did, given that “the opinion clearly says so.” The OLC also provided several recommendations on how the FBI and the Justice Department should alter its document production practices in light of Jencks.

  5/16/2022

• 3/26/1957

  Admission of Hungarian Refugees

  This document from the Office of Legal Counsel discusses the admission of Hungarian refugees to the United States and the legal implications surrounding it. The document discusses the conclusions reached by the Commission General Counsel that the admission of 6,322 Hungarian refugees was valid under the terms of the Refugee Relief Act of 1953, but the admission of 15,000 or more refugees was not valid under the parole provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. The document presents questions for review regarding the legal advice received, the validity of using the parole provisions for admitting refugees, and the authority of the Attorney General to provide legal opinions.

  5/16/2022

• 2/26/1957

  Designation of White Citizens Councils

  This opinion considered whether the attorney general had authority to designate White Citizens Councils as a “totalitarian, fascist, communist or subversive” group under Executive Order 9835. The opinion described the “deep and aggressive hostility to the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments” expressed by members of White Citizens Councils, but conveyed concerns about “labeling as subversive, and classing with Communists and Fascists, so large and otherwise loyal a group of individuals as compose the membership of the Citizens Councils.”

  5/16/2022

• 12/10/1956

  Presidential succession

  This document discusses the constitutional and statutory provisions governing succession to the Presidency. It covers the succession of the Vice President to the Presidency or to act as President, as well as the succession of an officer to act as President in the absence of a President and Vice President. The document raises questions about what constitutes inability, who determines when it exists, and in what capacity and for how long the Vice President would exercise the powers and duties of the President's office. It also discusses the constitutionality of the succession law, particularly in cases where there is neither a President nor Vice President. The conclusion reached is that there is serious doubt about the validity of the present succession law, and a proposed solution is to provide for a regular presidential election at the time of the mid-term Congressional election.

  5/16/2022

• 9/24/1956

  Opinion of the Attorney General of Kentucky on Racial Integration of its Public Schools

  The memo analyzed the exclusion of Black students in two segregated Kentucky schools with the support of the state attorney general on the purported basis that enrollment was “illegal” until the local school boards created a formal integration plan. The OLC’s memo acknowledged that the primary responsibility for integration laid with local school boards, but noted that the school boards had adopted no plan for integration whatsoever, and that the opinion supporting the exclusion of the students was likely rooted in political opposition to integration.

  5/16/2022

• 7/12/1956

  Constitutionality of Pending Bills Restricting the Withdrawal of Public Land for National Defense

  Pursuant to his constitutional powers as Commander in Chief, the President, particularly in time of war or national emergency, may have authority without the authorization of Congress to reserve and use public lands for the training and deployment of the armed forces of the United States for national defense purposes. If the above is true, any attempted restriction of this authority by Congress would be an unconstitutional invasion of the President's authority as Commander in Chief. 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/20741/download.

  7/12/1956

• 6/21/1956

  Dissemination of information made available to the Commission on Government Security

  This document discusses the applicability of Executive Order 10501 to the Commission on Government Security, and whether the Commission is within the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. The conclusion reached is that certain provisions of the Executive Order, specifically sections 5(1) and 7(b), should be regarded as applicable to the Commission. The document presents questions about the Commission's status within the Executive Branch, the potential offensive nature of applying the Executive Order to the Commission, and the practicality and necessity of subjecting the Commission to all the provisions of the Order.

  5/16/2022