Opinions
Use of Department of Defense Drug-Detecting Dogs to Aid in Civilian Law Enforcement
Lending Department of Defense drug-detecting dogs to civilian law enforcement officials and training the officials to handle the dogs is permitted by the Posse Comitatus Act.
The use of Department of Defense personnel to search, but not seize, materials is permissible if there are no persons present with whom a confrontation might arise.
The restrictions of 10 U S.C. § 375 are inapplicable to the Navy and the Marine Corps. Therefore, the use of Naval and Marine drug-detecting dogs lies within the discretion of the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Defense.
Authority of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to Override International Law in Extraterritorial Law Enforcement Activities
At the direction of the President or the Attorney General, the FBI may use its statutory authority to investigate and arrest individuals for violating United States law, even if the FBI’s actions contravene customary international law.
The President, acting through the Attorney General, has the inherent constitutional authority to deploy the FBI to investigate and arrest individuals for violating United States law, even if those actions contravene customary international law.
Extraterritorial law enforcement activities that are authorized by domestic law are not barred even if they contravene unexecuted treaties or treaty provisions, such as Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter.
An arrest that is inconsistent with international or foreign law does not violate the Fourth Amendment.
Congressional Requests for Confidential Executive Branch Information
This memorandum summarizes the principles and practices governing congressional requests for confidential executive branch information.
Authority of the Customs Service to Offer Rewards for Information Concerning the Whereabouts of Indicted Drug Traffickers
The Customs Service is not authorized to offer financial rewards for original information on the whereabouts in the United States of high-level, international drug traffickers who are under indictment.
Constitutionality of Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Imposition of Civil Penalties on the Air Force
In the absence of Presidential intervention to review its decision, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission may constitutionally issue an order imposing civil penalties on the Department of the Air Force under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.
Although Congress may not deprive the President of an opportunity to review a decision made by an agency subject to his supervisory authority, the President is not constitutionally required to review all such decisions before they may be lawfully implemented.
Because the Atomic Energy Act gives the Attorney General exclusive authonty and discretion to enforce civil penalties imposed under the Act, an interagency dispute regarding the collection of such penalties would properly be resolved within the executive branch rather than through interagency litigation.
Application of Vacancy Act Limitations to Presidential Designation of an Acting Special Counsel
The Vacancy Act does not circumscribe the President’s express authority pursuant to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 to designate an Acting Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices.
Authority of the FBI to Conduct Background Investigations for Congress
The FBI has statutory authority to conduct background investigations of congressional employees who will have access to classified information or who the Attorney General identifies as having a connection to a matter within the control of the Justice or State Departments for which such an investigation is required.
Prepayment Authority Under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936
Section 306A of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as amended, which authorizes borrowers of Federal Financing Banking loans to prepay those loans if private capital is used to replace the loan, does not preclude prepayment with funds obtained by means other than refinanced loans secured by existing Rural Electrification Act loan guarantees. In particular, prepayment may be made from internally generated funds.
Section 306A does not authorize the issuance of regulations creating a priority in favor of borrowers who agree to prepay such loans with internally generated funds.
Authority to Decline Compensation for Service on the National Council of Arts
The Anti-Deficiency Act does not prohibit a member of the National Council of the Arts from serving without compensation.
Availability of Judgment Fund in Cases Not Involving a Money Judgment Claim
The Judgment Fund is not available for suits that do not seek to require the government to make direct payments of money to individuals, but merely would require the government to take actions that result in the expenditure of government funds.
The Judgment Fund is available: (1) for the payment of final “money judgments” (but not for “non-money judgments”) whose payment is not “otherwise provided for”; (2) for the payment of tort settlements covered by statutory provisions listed in 31 U.S.C. § 1304(a); and (3) for the payment of non-tort settlements authorized by the Attorney General or his designee, whose payment is not “otherwise provided for,” if and only if the cause of action that gave rise to the settlement could have resulted in a final money judgment.