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 311–320 of 2202

  • Proposed Amendments to Military Commission Order No. 1

    The Secretary of Defense could, consistent with the President's Military Order of November 13, 2001, revise Military Commission Order No. 1 so that the presiding officer would rule upon all questions of law (subject to the requirements of section 4(c)(3) of the Military Order regarding questions of admissibility), and the other members of the commission would make findings and pronounce sentence. 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/450906/download.

    8/12/2005

  • Authority Under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act to Close or Realign National Guard Installations Without the Consent of State Governors

    The federal government has authority under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, as amended, to close or realign a National Guard installation without the consent of the governor of the state in which the installation is located. 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/450901/download.

    8/10/2005

  • Whether Persons Captured and Detained in Afghanistan are "Protected Persons" under the Fourth Geneva Convention

    This opinion reiterates the conclusion of prior OLC opinions, that although the Gevena Conventions apply to the armed conflict between the United States and the Taliban, persons captured and detained by the U.S. in Afghanistan do not enjoy the status of "protected persons," since no part of Afghanistan is occupied territory or the home territory of 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 https://justice.gov/olc/docs/aclu-ii-080505.pdf.

    8/5/2005

  • Assignment of Certain Functions Related to Military Appointments

    Section 531(a)(1) of title 10 does not affirmatively prohibit delegation to the Secretary of Defense of the President's appointment authority. The Appointments Clause of the Constitution does not prohibit Congress from allowing the President to choose between making such an appointment himself and delegating it to the Secretary of Defense. So long as each nomination is submitted to the Secretary of Defense for approval (whether individually or in groups) and each appointment is made in the name of the Secretary of Defense (whether the document evidencing the appointment be signed by the Secretary or an authorized subordinate officer), the Constitution would permit much of the legwork of the appointment process to be delegated to a subordinate officer below the Secretary of Defense. 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/450891/download.

    7/28/2005

  • Whether Conflict of Interest Laws Apply to a Person Assisting a Supreme Court Nominee

    On the facts described, former Senator Fred Thompson would not be an "officer" or "employee" of the federal government if he assisted a Supreme Court nominee during the process of confirmation by the Senate, and as a consequence the federal conflict of interest laws would not apply to him. 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/450886/download.

    7/22/2005

  • Whether the President May Sign a Bill by Directing That His Signature Be Affixed to It

    The President need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill he approves and decides to sign in order for the bill to become law. Rather, the President may sign a bill within the meaning of Article I, Section 7 by directing a subordinate to affix the President's signature to such a bill, for example by autopen. 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/450876/download.

    7/7/2005

  • Authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to Permit Importation of Frames, Receivers, and Barrels of Non-Importable Firearms

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives does not have authority under the Gun Control Act of 1968 to permit the importation of the frames, receivers, and barrels of non-importable firearms, where the importation of those parts is solely for purposes of repair or replacement rather than for the assembly of a new firearm. The Bureau may, however, announce that, for a limited time (60 days), it will not take enforcement action against persons importing frames, receivers, or barrels pursuant to a previously issued 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/opinion/file/832871/download.

    7/6/2005

  • Scope of Criminal Enforcement Under 42 U.S.C. § 1320d-6

    Covered entities and those persons rendered accountable by general principles of corporate criminal liability may be prosecuted directly under 42 U.S.C. § 1320d-6, and the knowingly element of the offense set forth in that provision requires only proof of knowledge of the facts that constitute the offense. 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/450871/download.

    6/1/2005

  • Application of United States Obligations Under Article 16 of the Convention Against Torture to Certain Techniques that May Be Used in the Interrogation of High Value al Qaeda Detainees

    This opinion reviews whether the "enhanced interrogation techniques" employed by the CIA in the interrogation of high value al Qaeda detainees are consistent with Uníted States obligations under Article 16 of the Torture Convention. The opinion conludes that Article 16 does not extend to the CIA interrogation program; even if it does apply, the CIA program does not violate the substantive standards of Article 16, provided that CIA's screening criteria, limitations, and medical safeguards are in place. 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/file/886281/download.

    5/30/2005

  • Best Practices for OLC Opinions

    This internal memo explains basic principles OLC attorneys should follow when drafting opinions. The memo also provides general guidance on how OLC attorneys should approach researching, outlining, drafting, and reviewing opinions. The release date listed is the date on which the memo was authored. The original memo is available at https://justice.gov/sites/default/files/pages/attachments/2014/07/11/olc-best-practices-2005.pdf.

    5/16/2005

Related Content