WHETHER THE TEN-YEAR MINIMUM SENTENCE IN 18 U.S.C.
§ 924(c)(1)(B)(i) APPLIES TO SEMIAUTOMATIC ASSAULT WEAPONS
semiautomatic-weapons.pdf |
Semiautomatic assault weapons are no longer among the firearms to which the ten-year minimum
sentence in section 924(c)(1)(B)(i) of title 18 applies.
November 24, 2009 |
APPLICABILITY OF SECTION 163 OF DIVISION B OF PUBLIC LAW
111-68 TO PAYMENTS IN SATISFACTION OF PRE-EXISTING
CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
obligations-public-law11168.pdf |
Section 163 of Division B (“Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2010”) of Public Law
111-68 does not direct or authorize the Department of Housing and Urban Development to
breach a pre-existing binding contractual obligation to make payments to the Association of
Community Organizations for Reform Now or its affiliates, subsidiaries, or allied organizations
where doing so would give rise to contractual liability.
October 23, 2009 |
REMOVABILITY OF THE FEDERAL COORDINATOR FOR ALASKA
NATURAL GAS TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS
gas-transport-project.pdf |
The Federal Coordinator for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects serves at the
pleasure of the President and thus may be removed at the President’s will.
October 23, 2009 |
LETTER OPINION FOR THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
opinion-letter-treasury.pdf |
The Administration’s proposal for mandatory registration of credit rating agencies, which
would include an exemption designed to address First Amendment concerns, would satisfy the First
Amendment’s requirements.
October 22, 2009 |
AUTHORITY OF THE FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE FEDERAL
HOUSING FINANCE BOARD TO ACT AS INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR THE
FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY
inspector-general.pdf |
The Federal Housing Finance Board Inspector General did not by statute automatically acquire
authority to act as Inspector General for the Federal Housing Finance Agency at the time of the
enactment of the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008.
The former Federal Housing Finance Board Inspector General cannot appoint employees to the
Office of Inspector General for the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
September 8, 2009 |
PERMISSIBILITY OF SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING THE HISTORICALLY UNDERUTILIZED BUSINESS ZONE, 8(A) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, AND SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN PROGRAMS
sba-hubzone-opinion082109.pdf |
The Small Business Administration's regulations governing the interplay among the Historically Underutilized Business Zone Program, the 8(a) Business Development Program, and the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern Program constitute a permissible construction of the Small Business Act.
The Small Business Act does not compel the prioritization of awards under the Historically Underutilized Business Zone Program over those under the 8(a) Business Development Program and the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern Program. The Small Business Administration's regulations permissibly authorize contracting officers to exercise their discretion to choose among these three programs in setting aside contracts to be awarded to qualified small business concerns.
The Office of Legal Counsel's conclusion that the Small Business Administration's regulations are reasonable is binding on all Executive Branch agencies. August 21, 2009 |
LEGALITY OF INTRUSION-DETECTION SYSTEM TO PROTECT
UNCLASSIFIED COMPUTER NETWORKS IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
legality-of-e2.pdf |
Operation of the EINSTEIN 2.0 intrusion-detection system complies with the Fourth Amendment
to the Constitution, title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act, the Stored Communications Act, and the pen register and trap and trace
provisions of chapter 206 of title 18, United States Code, provided that certain log-on banners or
computer-user agreements are consistently adopted, implemented, and enforced by executive departments
and agencies using the system. Operation of the EINSTEIN 2.0 system also does not run afoul of state
wiretapping or communications privacy laws. August 14, 2009 |
ELIGIBILITY OF A RETIRED MILITARY OFFICER FOR APPOINTMENT AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISRATION
nasaadministratorappointment.pdf |
A retired military officer—and certainly one who has engaged in civilian pursuits after his retirement—is eligible for appointment as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. July 8, 2009 |
CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE MATTHEW SHEPARD HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT
shepard-hate-crimes.pdf |
The two new criminal prohibitions created in the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act would be constitutional.
June 16, 2009 |
WITHDRAWAL OF OFFICE OF LEGAL COUNSEL OPINION
memo-barron2009.pdf |
One previous opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel concerning interrogations by the Central Intelligence Agency is withdrawn and no longer represents the views of the Office.
June 11, 2009 |
CONSTITUTIONALITY OF SECTION 7054 OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2009 FOREIGN APPROPRIATIONS ACT
section7054.pdf |
Section 7054 of the Fiscal Year 2009 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, which purports to prohibit all funds made available under title I of that Act from being used to pay the expenses for any United States delegation to a specialized UN agency, body, or commission that is chaired or presided over by a country with a government that the Secretary of State has determined supports international terrorism, unconstitutionally infringes on the President’s authority to conduct the Nation’s diplomacy, and the State Department may disregard it.
June 1, 2009 |
VALIDITY OF STATUTORY ROLLBACKS
AS A MEANS OF COMPLYING WITH THE INELIGIBILITY CLAUSE
ineligibility-clause.pdf |
Where a salary increase
for an executive office would otherwise create a bar
to appointment of a member of Congress under the Ineligibility
Clause, compliance with the Clause can be achieved
by legislation rolling back the salary of the office
before the appointment.
May 20, 2009 |
CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE RONALD REAGAN CENTENNIAL COMMISSION ACT OF 2009
reagancentennialcommission.pdf |
Provisions in the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act of 2009 establishing that six of eleven commissioners of the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission would be members of Congress, appointed by congressional leadership, would raise concerns under the Appointments Clause, the Ineligibility Clause, and the separation of powers.
April 21, 2009 |
WITHDRAWAL OF OFFICE OF LEGAL COUNSEL CIA INTERROGATION OPINIONS
withdrawalofficelegalcounsel.pdf |
Four previous opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel concerning interrogations by the Central Intelligence Agency are withdrawn and no longer represent the views of the Office.
April 15, 2009 |
STATUS OF PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM
ADDRESSING THE USE OF POLYGRAPHS
lbj-memo-opinion.pdf |
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.
January 14, 2009 |
LEGAL ISSUES RELATING TO THE TESTING, USE, AND DEPLOYMENT
OF AN INTRUSION-DETECTION SYSTEM (EINSTEIN 2.0) TO PROTECT
UNCLASSIFIED COMPUTER NETWORKS IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
e2-issues.pdf |
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 chapter 206 of title 18, United
States Code, provided that certain log-on banners or computer-user agreements are consistently adopted,
implemented, and enforced by executive departments and agencies using the system.
January 9, 2009 |
