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 251–260 of 2202
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Status of Presidential Memorandum on Use of the Polygraph in the Executive Branch
An undated four-page memorandum from President Lyndon Johnson entitled "Use of the Polygraph in the Executive Branch" and addressed to the heads of Executive Branch departments and agencies, which was neither issued as a directive to the Executive Branch nor understood contemporaneously to have legal effect, does not now bind the Department of Justice or other entities within the Executive Branch. 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/2009-01-14-polygraph/download.
1/14/2009
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Use of the EINSTEIN 2.0 Intrusion-Detection System to Protect Unclassified Computer Networks in the Executive Branch
An intrusion-detection system known as EINSTEIN 2.0 used to protect civilian unclassified networks in the Executive Branch against malicious network activity complies with the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, the Wiretap Act, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the Stored Communications Act, and the pen-register and trap-and-trace provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 3121 et seq., provided that certain log-on banners or computer-user agreements are consistently adopted, implemented, and enforced by executive departments and agencies using the system. 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/2009-01-09-einstein/download.
1/9/2009
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Assistance of Counsel in Removal Proceedings (I)
The Constitution does not confer a constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel in removal proceedings, because the alien has no constitutional right to counsel, including government-appointed counsel, in the first place. Although the Constitution does not entitle an alien to relief for his lawyer's mistakes, the Department may, in its discretion, allow an alien to reopen removal proceedings based on the deficient performance of his lawyer. In extraordinary cases, where a lawyer's deficient performance likely changed the outcome of an alien's removal proceedings, the Board may reopen removal proceedings notwithstanding the absence of a constitutional right to such relief. 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/2009-01-07-compean-01/download.
1/7/2009
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Meaning of "Temporary" Work Under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b)
A regulation proposed by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services providing that "temporary" work under the H-2B visa program "[g]enerally . . . will be limited to one year or less, but . . . could last up to 3 years" is based on a permissible reading of 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) and is consistent with the 1987 opinion of this Office addressing the meaning of "temporary" work under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(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/482201/download.
12/18/2008
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Constitutionality of the OLC Reporting Act of 2008
S. 3501, the OLC Reporting Act of 2008, which would require the Department of Justice to report to Congress on a wide range of confidential legal advice that is protected by constitutional privilege, is unconstitutional. The bill raises very serious policy concerns because it would undermine the public interest in confidential advice and information sharing that is critical to informed and effective government decisionmaking. 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/482161/download.
11/14/2008
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Requests for Information Under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act
The Federal Bureau of Investigation may issue a national security letter to request, and a provider may disclose, only the four types of information—name, address, length of service, and local and long distance toll billing records—listed in 18 U.S.C. § 2709(b)(1). The term "local and long distance toll billing records" in section 2709(b)(1) extends to records that could be used to assess a charge for outgoing or incoming calls, whether or not the records are used for that purpose, and whether they are linked to a particular account or kept in aggregate form. Before issuance of a national security letter, a provider may not tell the FBI whether that provider serves a particular customer or telephone number, unless the FBI is asking only whether the number is assigned, or belongs, to that provider. 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/482196/download.
11/5/2008
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Scope of Exemption Under Federal Lottery Statutes for Lotteries Conducted by a State Acting Under the Authority of State Law
The federal lottery statute exemption for lotteries "conducted by a State" requires that the state exercise actual control over all significant business decisions made by the lottery enterprise and retain all but a de minimis share of the equity interest in the profits and losses of the business, as well as the rights to the trademarks and other unique intellectual property or essential assets of the state's lottery. It is permissible under the exemption for a state to contract with private firms to provide goods and services necessary to enable the state to conduct its lottery, including management services, as discussed in the opinion. 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/482191/download.
10/16/2008
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October 23, 2001 OLC Opinion Addressing the Domestic Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activities
This opinion reverses an October 23, 2001 OLC opinion on the domestic use of military force against terrorist activities. The prior opinion had concluded that military necessities may override the Fourth Amendment, First Amendment (speech and press rights), and other guarantees of individual liberty. In this opinion, the OLC admits that some of these propositions were incorrect or highly questionable. 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/docs/memoolcopiniondomesticusemilitaryforce10062008.pdf.
10/6/2008
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Enforceability of Certain Agreements Between the Department of the Treasury and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
The Amended and Restated Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements between the United States Department of the Treasury and the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, according to their terms, would create rights enforceable through actions brought in the United States Court of Federal Claims in accordance with the ordinary rules and procedures governing litigation in that Court. 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/482186/download.
9/26/2008
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Applicability of 18 U.S.C. § 207(f) to Public Relations Activities Undertaken for a Foreign Corporation Controlled by a Foreign Government
A foreign corporation is a "foreign entity" under 18 U.S.C. § 207(f) if it exercises sovereign authority or functions de jure or de facto. A former official's proposed activities are not prohibited by section 207(f)(1) if the former official does not provide those services on behalf of a "foreign entity," regardless of whether the former official's services incidentally benefit the foreign entity's interests. Where the former official does provide services on behalf of a "foreign entity," the proposed public relations and media activities would fall within the scope of section 207(f)(1) if the former official acts with the requisite intent to influence a decision of an officer or employee of the United States 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/482181/download.
8/13/2008