NCJ Number
141889
Date Published
1991
Length
109 pages
Annotation
This report presents 11 selected memorandum opinions of the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel issued in 1991 regarding the official duties of Federal executive officers, including the President and the Attorney General.
Abstract
One opinion holds that the Department of Defense may assist civilian law enforcement agencies to identify or confirm suspected illegal drug production with aerial reconnaissance that uses forward looking infrared radars technology. Such assistance is authorized by 10 U.S.C. Section 374(b)(2)(B) and is not prohibited by 10 U.S.C. Section 375. Another opinion concludes that principles of intergovernmental tax immunity, combined with longstanding rules that govern forfeiture and the express language of modern forfeiture statutes, establish that property ultimately forfeited to the Federal Government is not subject to State and local taxes arising after the date of an offense that leads to the order of forfeiture. A third opinion holds that the Appropriations Act for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State and the Judiciary and related agencies authorizes the FBI to charge the Department of State user fees for fingerprint identification and name-check services provided to the State Department in association with its review of visa applications, since this serves a "non-criminal justice" purpose.