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 841–850 of 2202
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Acceptance of Gifts and Awards by the Attorney General
This memo provides general guidance on the applicable limits and regulations affecting the acceptance of gifts and awards by the attorney general, including statutory and departmental regulations, financial disclosure procedure, and foreign gifts rules. 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/936186/download.
11/4/1988
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Constitutional Concerns Implicated by Demand for Presidential Evidence in a Criminal Prosecution
9/2/2022
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Legal Issues Raised by Proposed Presidential Proclamation to Extend the Territorial Sea
The President has the authority to issue a proclamation extending the jurisdiction of the United States over the territorial sea from three to twelve miles out. The President also has the authority to assert the United States's sovereignty over the extended territorial sea, although most such claims in the nation's history have been executed by treaty. There is a serious question whether Congress has the authority either to assert jurisdiction over an expanded territorial sea for purposes o f international law or to assert the United States's sovereignty over it. The domestic law effect on federal statutes of the extension of the territorial sea is to be determined by examining Congress's intent in enacting each affected statute. The extension of the territorial sea will not affect the Coastal Zone Management Act. 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/24141/download.
10/4/1988
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Reimbursement of the Internal Revenue Service for Investigative Services Provided to the Independent Counsel
To the extent that Internal Revenue Service agents detailed to an independent counsel perform work that is related to the type of work for which the IRS receives its appropriations, the detail falls within an exception to the general rule against non-reimbursable details. Reimbursement by the independent counsel is appropriate for work performed by the detailed agents that is not IRS-related. 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/24136/download.
9/30/1988
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Application of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to HIV-Infected Individuals
In the non-employment context, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act protects symptomatic and asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals against discrimination in any covered program or activity on the basis of any actual, past or perceived effect of HIV that substantially limits any major life activity—so long as the HIV-infected individual is "otherwise qualified" to participate in the program or activity. Section 504 applies in substance in the same way in the employment context. Subject to an employer making reasonable accommodation within the terms of its existing personnel policies, the symptomatic or asymptomatic HIV-infected individual is protected against discrimination if he or she is able to perform the duties of the job and does not constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of others. 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/24131/download.
9/27/1988
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Whether a Federal Prisoner Worker is an "Employee" Within the Meaning of Certain Federal Statutes
A federal prisoner worker is not an "employee" within the meaning of section 23 of the Toxic Substances Control Act, section 312 of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977, or section 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. 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/24126/download.
9/19/1988
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FDA Authority to Preempt California Proposition 65
9/2/2022
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Department of Housing and Urban Development Restrictions on Grants to Religious Organizations That Provide Secular Social Services
The Establishment Clause of the Constitution does not require the Department of Housing and Urban Development to deny grants to religious organizations that engage in religion-based employment discrimination or to deny grants for rehabilitation, reconstruction, or construction of facilities that are owned by religious organizations. Department of Housing and Urban Development prohibition on use of grant funds for religious counseling or use of grant funds to provide services in a facility in which sectarian or religious symbols are displayed is not more restrictive than the Establishment Clause requires. 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/24121/download.
9/14/1988
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Detail of Law Enforcement Agents to Congressional Committees
Details of Department of Justice law enforcement agents to congressional committees are statutorily authorized provided the details are made on a reimbursable basis. Such details do not violate the constitutional principles of separation of powers as long as the details are advisory in nature, involve functions not required by the Constitution to be performed by an "officer" of the United States, and when there are particularly compelling policy reasons for the assignment that outweigh any separation of powers concerns. Due to the substantial policy and ethical concerns such details raise, the Department should consider a reimbursable detail only after a careful examination of the functions to be performed and consideration of the conflicts likely to arise. 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/24116/download.
9/13/1988
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GAO Access to Trade Secret Information
Section 301(j) of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 prohibits the Food and Drug Administration from providing the General Accounting Office with access to trade secret information submitted by drug manufacturers to the FDA. 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/24111/download.
9/13/1988