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.

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  • Constitutionality of Vesting Magistrate Judges With Jurisdiction Over Asset Forfeiture Cases

    A statute vesting magistrate judges with jurisdiction over asset forfeiture cases would violate Article 111 of the Constitution. 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/20436/download.

    12/6/1993

  • Whether Missouri Municipalities May Tax the Portion of Federal Salaries Voluntarily Contributed to the Thrift Savings Plan

    Intergovernmental tax immunity does not preclude municipalities in Missouri from levying an earnings tax on the voluntary contributions of federal employees to the Thrift Savings Plan. 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/20441/download.

    11/10/1993

  • The Legal Significance of Presidential Signing Statements

    Many Presidents have used signing statements to make substantive legal, constitutional, or administrative pronouncements on the bill being signed. These uses of Presidential signing statements generally serve legitimate and defensible purposes. 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/20446/download.

    11/3/1993

  • Constitutionality of Health Care Reform

    The proposed Health Security Act is well within the authority of Congress under the Commerce Clause, and it does not violate Tenth Amendment or other principles of federalism. The proposal contains no unconstitutional takings of private property or infringement of liberty interests. The proposed delegation of administrative authority to the National Health Board, and, from it, to state alliances, is not an impermissible delegation of legislative authority. 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/20451/download.

    10/29/1993

  • Applicability of the Emoluments Clause to Non-Government Members of ACUS

    The Emoluments Clause of the Constitution prohibits non-government members of the Administrative Conference of the United States from accepting, absent Congress's consent, a distribution from their partnerships that includes some proportionate share of the revenues generated from the partnership's foreign government clients. Non-government members of ACUS are also generally forbidden, absent Congress's consent, from accepting payments from commercial entities owned or controlled by foreign governments. 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/20456/download.

    10/28/1993

  • Liability of the United States for State and Local Taxes on Seized and Forfeited Property (II)

    In civil forfeiture proceedings (under 21 U.S.C. § 881), the United States is obligated to pay liens for state and local taxes accruing after the commission of the offense leading to forfeiture and before the entry of a judicial order of forfeiture, if the lien-holder establishes, before the court enters the order of forfeiture, that it is an innocent owner of the interest it asserts. In criminal forfeiture proceedings (under 18 U.S.C. § 1963 or 21 U.S.C. § 853), the United States may not pay such liens because state and local tax lien-holders are not bona fide purchasers for value of the interests they would assert, and therefore do not come within any applicable exception to a statute that, upon entry of a court's final order of forfeiture, vests full ownership retroactively in the United States as of the date of 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/20461/download.

    10/18/1993

  • Immigration Consequences of Undocumented Aliens' Arrival in United States Territorial Waters

    Undocumented aliens interdicted within the twelve-mile zone that comprises the United States's territorial sea are not entitled to a hearing under the exclusion provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Immigration and Naturalization Service had the authority to promulgate an interpretative rule construing the "territorial waters" of the United States, as referred to in section 287 of the INA, to extend for twelve nautical miles. 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/20466/download.

    10/13/1993

  • Reimbursement for Costs of Attending Certain Banquets

    Employees in the United States Attorneys offices may properly be reimbursed for the costs of attending retirement banquets for state law enforcement officials under appropriate circum stances. However, reimbursement for attendance at such functions should be limited to circumstances where the nature of the ceremonial event in question provides good reason to believe that the employee's attendance advances the authorized functions or programs of the office. 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/20476/download.

    9/23/1993

  • Suspension of a United States Marshal

    With the prior approval of the President, the Attorney General may suspend a United States Marshal without pay. During the period of a United States Marshal's suspension, the Attorney General may designate an Acting United States Marshal to carry out the duties of the office. 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/20471/download.

    9/23/1993

  • Disclosure of Grand Jury Matters to the President and Other Officials

    The Attorney General may disclose grand jury material covered by Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to the President and members of the National Security Council where such disclosure is for the purpose of assisting the Attorney General in her enforcement of federal criminal law. Although under those circumstances such disclosure may be made without prior judicial approval, the names of those receiving the grand jury material must be submitted to the court that impaneled the grand jury in question. There are also circumstances where the President's constitutional responsibilities may provide justification for the Attorney General to disclose grand jury matters to the President independent of the provisions of Rule 6(e). Such circumstances might arise, for example, where the Attorney General learns through grand jury proceedings of a grave threat of terrorism, implicating the President's responsibilities under Article II of the Constitution. 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/20481/download.

    9/21/1993

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