Privacy Act: [ JUSTICE/OLC-002] Office of Legal Counsel Central File....

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[2001 Privacy Act]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]





   #.DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


                         Office of Legal Counsel

   #.. JUSTICE/OLC-001

   #....System name: Attorney Assignment Reports.

     System location: 
       Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice, 10th and 
   Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.
     Categories of individuals covered by the system: 
       Attorneys employed in the Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. 
   Department of Justice at the time each report was filed.
     Categories of records in the system: 
       The system consists of memoranda addressed to the Assistant 
   Attorney General by each staff attorney at periodic intervals listing 
   current assignments. Some reports also list completed assignments, 
   projected workload and anticipated leave.
     Authority for maintenance of the system: 
       These records are kept for administrative convenience pursuant to 
   5 U.S.C. 301 and 44 U.S.C. 3101.
     Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including 
   categories of users and the purposes of such uses: 
       Information from the system is not used outside the Department 
   except to advise Executive Branch agencies as to the identity of the 
   attorney working on a specific assignment, when inquiry is made.
       Release of information to the news media: Information permitted 
   to be released to the news media and the public pursuant to 28 CFR 
   50.2 may be made available from systems of records maintained by the 
   Department of Justice unless it is determined that release of the 
   specific information in the context of a particular case would 
   constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
       Release of information to Members of Congress. Information 
   contained in systems of records maintained by the Department of 
   Justice, not otherwise required to be released pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 
   552, may be made available to a Member of Congress or staff acting 
   upon the Member's behalf when the Member or staff requests the 
   information on behalf of and at the request of the individual who is 
   the subject of the record.
       Release of information to the National Archives and Records 
   Administration: A record from a system of records may be disclosed as 
   a routine use to the National Archives and Records Administration 
   (NARA) in records management inspections conducted under the 
   authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
       Pursuant to subsection (b)(3) of the Privacy Act, the Department 
   of Justice may disclose relevant and necessary information to a 
   former employee of the Department for purposes of: responding to an 
   official inquiry by a federal, state, or local government entity or 
   professional licensing authority, in accordance with applicable 
   Department regulations; or facilitating communications with a former 
   employee that may be necessary for personnel-related or other 
   official purposes where the Department requires information and/or 
   consultation assistance from the former employee regarding a matter 
   within that person's former area of responsibility.
     Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, 
   retaining, and disposing of records in the system: 
     Storage: 
       The Assistant Attorney General, each of his Deputies, the 
   Administrative Officer and the attorney who filed the report each 
   have copies. Some are retained chronologically in file folders, some 
   alphabetically in note books.
     Retrievability: 
       Information may be retrieved by name, alphabetically, or 
   chronologically.
     Safeguards: 
       Information is maintained in offices occupied during the day and 
   locked at night.
     Retention and disposal: 
       The Assistant Attorney General's file is chronological and is 
   maintained for three months. Attorneys may retain their copies 
   indefinitely, others are kept for about two years and disposed of.
     System manager(s) and address: 
       Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. 
   Department of Justice, 10th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, 
   DC 20530.
     Notification procedure: 
       Address inquiries to the System Manager, the Administrative 
   Officer or the two Deputies at the above address.
     Record access procedures: 
       A request for access to a record from this system may be made in 
   person or in writing, specifying the name of the attorney and the 
   dates of reports requested.
     Contesting record procedures: 
       Any requests for correction should be addressed to the System 
   Manager.
     Record source categories: 
       Information is supplied by the attorneys employed by the Office 
   of Legal Counsel on the date the report is filed.
     Systems exempted from certain provisions of the act: 
       None.

   #.. JUSTICE/OLC-002

   #....System name: Office of Legal Counsel Central File.

     System location: 
       U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel, 10th and 
   Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530.
     Categories of individuals covered by the system: 
       The system will permit retrieval of information concerning 
   persons mentioned in the legal opinions, memoranda, correspondence, 
   testimony and other writings of the Office of Legal Counsel. These 
   will include:
       (A) Addresses, authors and employees of the Office of Legal 
   Counsel whose name appears in memoranda, opinions, correspondence, 
   testimony and other writings of the Office;
       (B) Individuals who are the subject of opinions, particularly on 
   such subjects as conflict of interest, employee standards of conduct, 
   and immigration;
       (C) Attendees at meetings described in a memorandum included in 
   the file;
       (D) Litigants and judges identified in connection with reported 
   court decisions and pending cases described in memoranda; and
       (E) Other individuals identified in connection with questions 
   presented to the Office of Legal Counsel for resolution or comment.
     Categories of records in the system: 
       The system consists of memoranda, correspondence, testimony and 
   other writings of the Office of Legal Counsel from 1945 to the 
   present.
     Authority for maintenance of the system: 
       The system is maintained pursuant to the responsibilities of the 
   Office of Legal Counsel set forth in 28 CFR 0.25.
     Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including 
   categories of users and the purposes of such uses: 
       Information contained in this system is provided to the following 
   categories of users for the purposes stated:
       (A) Access to the computerized files of the Office of Legal 
   Counsel will be confined to employees of the Office of Legal Counsel 
   and other employees of the Department of Justice with specific 
   permission.
       (B) With the approval of the agency that requested the opinion, 
   selected recent opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel will be 
   published for general use, but personal information about individuals 
   will be deleted if release of that information would constitute a 
   clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
       (C) Unpublished opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel are 
   ordinarily made available upon request to third parties consistent 
   with the Freedom of Information Act.
       Pursuant to subsection (b)(3) of the Privacy Act, the Department 
   of Justice may disclose relevant and necessary information to a 
   former employee of the Department for purposes of: responding to an 
   official inquiry by a federal, state, or local government entity or 
   professional licensing authority, in accordance with applicable 
   Department regulations; or facilitating communications with a former 
   employee that may be necessary for personnel-related or other 
   official purposes where the Department requires information and/or 
   consultation assistance from the former employee regarding a matter 
   within that person's former area of responsibility.
     Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, 
   retaining, and disposing of records in the system: 
     Storage: 
       The indices are maintained on 5 x 7 cards in a master subject-
   matter index on all Office of Legal Counsel memoranda, opinions, 
   correspondence, testimony and other writings. In addition, to 
   facilitate Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act searches, an 
   alphabetical assortment of cards has been established within the 
   immigration and conflict of interest opinion indices which contain 
   the names of individuals who are the subjects of these opinions. 
   These are, in effect, cross-indices to a small portion of the Office 
   of Legal Counsel's overall opinions that are otherwise indexed and 
   retrieved according to subject matter. These indices are maintained 
   to assist in the retrieval of opinions and memoranda from 
   chronological files. However, because the system is undergoing 
   gradual conversion to a computerized system to facilitate legal 
   research, some opinions are also now stored on magnetic disks. Even 
   though the software design creates the capability for name retrieval, 
   the purpose of the design is to facilitate retrieval by legal subject 
   matter and the Office of Legal Counsel will continue to utilize the 
   system in this manner.
     Retrievability: 
       The alphabetical card index on conflict of interest and 
   immigration opinions will be retrieved by name. In addition, while 
   that information which has been entered into the computer to date may 
   be retrieved by name, all information, except that on conflict of 
   interest and immigration opinions, will ordinarily continue to be 
   retrieved by legal subject matter since the Office seldom has need to 
   focus on a name in legal research.
     Safeguards: 
       Index cards and chronological files are kept in locked offices 
   when unattended. Access is restricted to those personnel with a need 
   to know.
       The compilation of Office of Legal Counsel opinions available on 
   magnetic tape is subject to two access limitations designed to insure 
   that only authorized personnel of the Office of Legal Counsel have 
   access. First, the opinions in the computer system can be retrieved 
   only by those persons having a specified identification number, and 
   numbers are assigned only to personnel of the Office of Legal 
   Counsel. Second, there is an access code word in addition to the 
   identification number required for access to the opinions, and the 
   code word is made known only to the Office of Legal Counsel 
   personnel.
       During the period in which new opinions are being computerized an 
   exception to these access restrictions is made so that the 
   contracting assistant in the Justice Management Division who is 
   overseeing the computerization also has access to the opinions.
     Retention and disposal: 
       The records will be maintained indefinitely.
     System manager(s) and address: 
       Administrative Officer, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department 
   of Justice, 10th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530.
     Notification procedure: 
       Inquiries should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney General, 
   Office of Legal Counsel, at the address above.
     Record access procedures: 
       Same as above.
     Contesting record procedures: 
       Same as above.
     Record source categories: 
       General legal research sources and individuals and agencies 
   requesting opinions from the Office of Legal Counsel.
     Systems exempted from certain provisions of the act: 
       None.

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