Opinions
A Sitting President’s Amenability to Indictment and Criminal Prosecution
The indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions.
Enforceability of 18 U.S.C. § 1302
Application of 18 U.S.C. § 1302 to prohibit the mailing of truthful advertising concerning certain lawful gambling operations would violate the First Amendment. Accordingly, the Department of Justice will refrain from enforcing the statute with respect to such mailings.
Applicability of Government Corporation Control Act to “Gain Sharing Benefit” Agreement
The Government Corporation Control Act does not require the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to obtain legislative authorization before entering into a “gain sharing benefit” agreement with a private corporation that grants NASA deferred cash payments based on an increase in the value of the corporation’s common stock.
Administration of Coral Reef Resources in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands
The President may use his authority under the Antiquities Act to establish a national monument in the territorial sea and a national monument in the exclusive economic zone to protect marine resources.
The President may not establish a national wildlife refuge in the territorial sea or the exclusive economic zone using the implied power to reserve public lands recognized in United States v. Midwest Oil Co., 236 U.S. 459 (1915).
The authority to manage national monuments can, under certain circumstances, be shared between the Department of the Interior and other agencies, but the Fish and Wildlife Service must maintain sole management authority over any national wildlife refuge area within a monument. Regulations applicable to national monuments trump inconsistent fishery management plans, but the establishment of a national monument would not preclude the establishment of a national marine sanctuary in the same area.
Applicability of the Privacy Act to the White House
The Privacy Act does not apply to the White House Office, which is also known as the Office of the President.
Application of 18 U.S.C. § 209 to Employee-Inventors Who Receive Outside Royalty Payments
A federal government employee who obtains patent rights to an invention made in the course of federal employment ordinarily does not violate 18 U S.C. § 209 by licensing the patent rights to a private entity and receiving royalty payments in exchange.
Constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. § 1120
Congress has clear constitutional authonty to proscribe killings committed by escaped federal inmates serving life sentences, as provided in 18 U.S.C. § 1120, where the killings facilitate the escape or the avoidance of recapture.
Congress’s penological and custodial interests in ensuring the incapacitation of life-sentenced federal inmates provide compelling support for the constitutionality of 18 U.S C. § 1120 even when it is applied with respect to a post-escape killing that is not related to the escape or subsequent efforts to avoid recapture.
Whether a Former President May Be Indicted and Tried for the Same Offenses for Which He Was Impeached by the House and Acquitted by the Senate
The Constitution permits a former President to be indicted and tried for the same offenses for which he was impeached by the House of Representatives and acquitted by the Senate.
Division of Powers and Responsibilities Between the Chairperson of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board and the Board as a Whole
Under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and general principles governing the operation of boards, the day-to-day administration of Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board matters and execution of Board policies are the responsibilities of the chairperson, subject to Board oversight, while substantive policymaking and regulatory authority is vested in the Board as a whole.
In disputes over the allocation of authority in specific instances, the Board’s decision controls, as long as it is not arbitrary or unreasonable.
Applicability of the Post-Employment Restrictions of 18 U.S.C. § 207(c) to Assignees Under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act
The post-employment restrictions of 18 U S.C. § 207(c) apply to persons who are assigned from a university or a state or local government to the Department of Energy under the intergovernmental Personnel Act and are compensated at or above the ES-5 level, except for those who occupy positions ordinarily below the ES-5 level and who receive salaries only from the detailing employers, with the federal agency reimbursing those employers for an amount less than an ES-5 salary.