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 611–620 of 2202
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The Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy
The Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy is not subject to the Emoluments 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/file/20066/download.
4/17/1996
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Eligibility of Citizens of Freely Associated States for HUD Financial Assistance
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may not make financial assistance, including assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, available for the benefit of citizens of the Freely Associated States (Federated States o f Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Republic of Palau) who have entered the Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands as non-immigrants pursuant to section 141 of the Compact of Free Association. 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/20071/download.
3/7/1996
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Legal Authority to Approve Changes in Use of Property Under Section 414 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1969
The proposed sale of property at its fair market value in order to raise funds to build low and moderate income housing on different property constitutes a change in the use of property under section 414 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1969 and the terms of the deed of the 1974 sale of the property. The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the General Services Administration could approve the proposed sale of property to a public body without violating section 414. 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/20076/download.
3/5/1996
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Constitutionality of Citizenship Requirement for Participation in Small Business Administration's 8(a) Program
The Small Business Administration's regulation imposing a citizenship requirement for participation in its 8(a) program for disadvantaged contractors is constitutional. 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/20081/download.
3/4/1996
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Legality of Government Honoraria Ban Following U.S. v. National Treasury Employees Union
No portion of § 501(b) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, which imposes an honoraria ban on all government employees, survives the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. National Treasury Employees Union. 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/20086/download.
2/26/1996
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Brady Act Implementation Issues
The Attorney General may impose an expiration date on the validity of a check, conducted pursuant to the Brady Act by the national instant criminal background check system, that authorizes the transfer of a firearm. Information from the national instant criminal background check system may be disclosed to law enforcement agencies to further their criminal investigations, but disclosures may not be made for the purpose of establishing firearms registries and non-consensual disclosures may not be made for employment and licensing purposes. The Privacy Act places no restrictions on the Attorney General's express authority under the Brady Act to request information from federal agencies identifying individuals who fall within the categories of persons prohibited from possessing firearms. 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/20091/download.
2/13/1996
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Transactions Between the Federal Financing Bank and the Department of the Treasury
This opinion reviews a possible Federal Financing Bank sale of loan assets to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund and other possible related transactions between the FFB and the Department of the Treasury, and concludes that the contemplated transactions would be permissible under existing law. 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/20096/download.
2/13/1996
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Alternatives for the Imposition of Conditions on the Certification of Drug Transit and Producing Countries
The President may impose certain conditions upon a drug producing or transit country seeking certification under section 490(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. If he chooses to certify a country under section 490(b)(1)(B), he can withhold funds from the country to encourage compliance with a set of specified conditions. Alternatively, the President can determine not to certify a country in his annual certification report but inform the country that it might be recertified outside the annual cycle if it meets certain conditions. The first alternative offers greater flexibility to the President as, under the latter approach, the President is constrained in the exercise of his discretion by specific statutory requirements and his determination is subject to congressional review. 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/20101/download.
2/12/1996
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Authority of the President to Restrict Munitions Imports Under the Arms Export Control Act
Restricting the import of certain classes of Russian firearms and ammunition that are deemed an unacceptable risk to public safety is a legitimate use of the President's authority under the Arms Export Control Act to restrict the import of munitions in furtherance of United States foreign policy. 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/20106/download.
2/9/1996
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Assistance by State and Local Police in Apprehending Illegal Aliens
Subject to the provisions of state law, state and local police may constitutionally detain or arrest aliens for violating the criminal provisions of the Immigration and Naturalization Act. State and local police lack recognized legal authority to stop and detain an alien solely on suspicion of civil deportability, as opposed to a criminal violation of the immigration laws or other laws. State and local police may detain aliens reasonably suspected of a criminal violation of the immigration laws for periods of as long as 45 to 60 minutes when detentions of that length are necessary to allow for the arrival of Border Patrol agents who are needed for the informed federal disposition of the suspected violations. 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/20111/download.
2/5/1996