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Opinions of the Office of Legal Counsent - DOJ

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Legal Counsel


2003 Memoranda & Opinions

Overview of Document


WHETHER CERTAIN DIRECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS COMPLY WITH THE HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT AND THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
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A direct recording electronic voting system that produces a contemporaneous paper record, which is not accessible to sight-impaired voters but which allows sighted voters to confirm that their ballots accurately reflect their choices before the system officially records their votes, would be consistent with the Help America Vote Act and with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, so long as the voting system provides a similar opportunity for sight-impaired voters to verify their ballots before those ballots are finally cast.

October 10, 2003


AUTHORITY OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER UNDER FY 2003 HUD APPROPRIATIONS
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Provisions of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act for FY 2003 did not assign all responsibility for appropriations law matters to HUD's Chief Financial Officer to the exclusion of the General Counsel.

August 12, 2003


VA'S AUTHORITY TO FILL CERTAIN PRESCRIPTIONS WRITTEN BY NON-VA PHYSICIANS
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The Department of Veterans Affairs is authorized to fill prescriptions written by non-VA physicians for veterans placed on VA waiting lists.

July 3, 2003


AUTHORITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR TO PROVIDE HISTORIC PRESERVATION GRANTS TO HISTORIC RELIGIOUS PROPERTIES SUCH AS THE OLD NORTH CHURCH
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The Establishment Clause does not bar the award of historic preservation grants to the Old North Church or to other active houses of worship that qualify for such assistance, and the section of the National Historic Preservation Act authorizing the provision of historic preservation assistance to religious properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places is constitutional.

April 30, 2003


LIMITATIONS ON THE DETENTION AUTHORITY OF
THE IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE
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The Immigration and Nationality Act by its terms grants the Attorney General a full 90 days to effect an alien’s removal after the alien is ordered removed under section 241(a) of the Act, and it imposes no duty on the Attorney General to act as quickly as possible, or with any particular degree of dispatch, within the 90-day period. This reading of the Act raises no constitutional infirmity.

It is permissible for the Attorney General to take more than the 90-day removal period to remove an alien even when it would be within the Attorney General's power to effect the removal within 90 days. The Attorney General can take such action, however, only when the delay in removal is related to effectuating the immigration laws and the nation’s immigration policies. Among other things, delays in removal that are attributable to investigating whether and to what extent an alien has terrorist connections satisfy this standard.

February 20, 2003


DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY TO EXEMPT CANADIAN TRUCK DRIVERS FROM CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR TRANSPORTING EXPLOSIVES
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The Department of Transportation possesses the authority to issue a regulation that, under section 845(a)(1) of title 18, would exempt Canadian truck drivers from criminal liability under section 842(i) of that title. DoT, however, has not issued such a regulation, and therefore section 842(i) liability would attach to a Canadian truck driver transporting explosives in the United States.

February 6, 2003


FUNDING FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS
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Funding for technical assistance for the agricultural conservation programs listed in amended section 1241(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 is subject to the "section 11 cap" on transfer of Commodity Credit Corporation funds. The Secretary of Agriculture may draw on the Department of Agriculture's appropriation for Conservation Operations to fund technical assistance for these programs.

January 3, 2003


List of Years for Memoranda and Opinions



Updated 06/04/2004
doj/jmd/ls/aab