§ 509. Functions of the Attorney General

§ 509. Functions of the Attorney General

(1) vested by subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5 in administrative law judges employed by the Department of Justice;

(2) of the Federal Prison Industries, Inc.; and

(3) of the Board of Directors and officers of the Federal Prison Industries, Inc.

(Added Pub. L. 89–554, § 4(c), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 612; amended Pub. L. 95–251, § 2(a)(6), Mar. 27, 1978, 92 Stat. 183; Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 228(a), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2030; Pub. L. 107–273, div. A, title II, § 204(d), div. B, title IV, § 4003(b)(1), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1776, 1811.)

The section is restated to allow incorporation into this chapter.

[The Historical and Revision Notes for former section 507, from which this section is partially derived, is set out under section 547 of this title.]

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 509, act June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 910, related to expenses of United States attorneys, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 89–554, § 8(a), and reenactment in section 549 of this title by section 4(c) of Pub. L. 89–554.

Amendments

2002—Par. (3). Pub. L. 107–273, §§ 204(d), 4003(b)(1), amended par. (3) identically, striking out second period at end.

1984—Pub. L. 98–473 inserted “and” at end of par. (2), substituted a period for “; and” at end of par. (3), and struck out par. (4) which related to functions of Board of Parole.

1978—Par. (1). Pub. L. 95–251 substituted “administrative law judges” for “hearing examiners”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 235(a)(1)(B)(ii)(IV), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2032, provided that the amendment made by Pub. L. 98–473 is effective Oct. 12, 1984.

Short Title of 2016 Amendment

Pub. L. 114–325, § 1, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1965, provided that: “This Act [amending provisions set out as a note under this section] may be cited as the ‘Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016’.”

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Domestic Emergency Support Teams of the Department of Justice, including the functions of the Attorney General relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see former section 313(4) and sections 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

Prohibition on Firearms or Ammunition Transfers to Agents of Drug Cartels

Pub. L. 117–159, div. A, title II, § 12004(g), June 25, 2022, 136 Stat. 1330, provided that: “The Department of Justice, and any of its law enforcement coordinate agencies, shall not conduct or otherwise facilitate the transfer of an operable firearm or ammunition to an individual if any law enforcement officer employed by the Department of Justice involved with the transfer knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the recipient of the firearm or ammunition is an agent of a drug cartel, unless law enforcement personnel of the United States continuously monitor or control the firearm or ammunition at all times.”

Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes

Pub. L. 110–344, Oct. 7, 2008, 122 Stat. 3934, as amended by Pub. L. 114–325, § 2, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1965, provided that: “SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.“This Act may be cited as the ‘Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007’. “SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.“It is the sense of Congress that all authorities with jurisdiction, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other entities within the Department of Justice, should—“(1) expeditiously investigate unsolved civil rights murders, due to the amount of time that has passed since the murders and the age of potential witnesses; “(2) provide all the resources necessary to ensure timely and thorough investigations in the cases involved; “(3) meet regularly with eligible entities to coordinate the sharing of information and to discuss the status of the Department’s work under this Act; “(4) support the full accounting of all victims whose deaths or disappearances were the result of racially motivated crimes; “(5) hold accountable under Federal and State law all individuals who were perpetrators of, or accomplices in, unsolved civil rights murders and such disappearances; “(6) express the condolences of the authority to the communities affected by unsolved civil rights murders, and to the families of the victims of such murders and such disappearances; “(7) keep families regularly informed about the status of the investigations of such murders and such disappearances of their loved ones; and “(8) expeditiously comply with requests for information received pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States Code, (commonly known as the ‘Freedom of Information Act’) and develop a singular, publicly accessible repository of these disclosed documents. “SEC. 3. DEPUTY CHIEF OF THE CRIMINAL SECTION OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION.“(a) In General.—The Attorney General shall designate a Deputy Chief in the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. “(b) Responsibility.—“(1) In general.—The Deputy Chief shall be responsible for coordinating the investigation and prosecution of violations of criminal civil rights statutes that occurred not later than December 31, 1979, and resulted in a death. “(2) Coordination.—In investigating a complaint under paragraph (1), the Deputy Chief may coordinate investigative activities with State and local law enforcement officials, and eligible entities. “(3) Review of closed cases.—The Deputy Chief may, to the extent practicable, reopen and review any case involving a violation described in paragraph (1) that was closed prior to the date of the enactment of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016 [Dec. 16, 2016] without an in-person investigation or review conducted by an officer or employee of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice or by an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “(4) Public engagement.—“(A) In general.—The Department shall hold meetings with representatives of the Civil Rights Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Community Relations Service, eligible entities, and where appropriate, state and local law enforcement to discuss the status of the Department’s work under this Act. “(B) Authorization of appropriations.—In addition to amounts made available to carry out this Act under section 6, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2017 and each of the next 10 subsequent fiscal years to carry out this paragraph. “(c) Study and Report.—“(1) Study.—The Attorney General shall annually conduct a study of the cases under the jurisdiction of the Deputy Chief or under the jurisdiction of the Supervisory Special Agent and, in conducting the study, shall determine—“(A) the number of open investigations within the Department for violations of criminal civil rights statutes that occurred not later than December 31, 1979; “(B) the number of new cases opened pursuant to this Act since the previous year’s study; “(C) the number of unsealed Federal cases charged within the study period, including the case names, the jurisdiction in which the charges were brought, and the date the charges were filed; “(D) the number of cases referred by the Department to a State or local law enforcement agency or prosecutor within the study period, the number of such cases that resulted in State charges being filed, the jurisdiction in which such charges were filed, the date the charges were filed, and if a jurisdiction declines to prosecute or participate in an investigation of a case so referred, the fact it did so; “(E) the number of cases within the study period that were closed without Federal prosecution, the case names of unsealed Federal cases, the dates the cases were closed, and the relevant federal statutes; “(F) the number of attorneys who worked, in whole or in part, on any case described in subsection (b)(1); “(G) the applications submitted for grants under section 5, the award of such grants, and the purposes for which the grant amount were expended; and “(H) the number of cases referred by an eligible entity or a State or local law enforcement agency or prosecutor to the Department within the study period, the number of such cases that resulted in Federal charges being filed, the date the charges were filed, and if the Department declines to prosecute or participate in an investigation of a case so referred, the fact that it did so, and the outreach, collaboration, and support for investigations and prosecutions of violations of criminal civil rights statutes described in section 2(3), including murders and including disappearances described in section 2(4), within Federal, State, and local jurisdictions. “(2) Report.—Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 7, 2008], and each year thereafter, the Attorney General shall prepare and submit to Congress a report containing the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1) and a description of the activities conducted under subsection (b)(3). “SEC. 4. SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS UNIT OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION.“(a) In General.—The Attorney General shall designate a Supervisory Special Agent in the Civil Rights Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice. “(b) Responsibility.—“(1) In general.—The Supervisory Special Agent shall be responsible for investigating violations of criminal civil rights statutes that occurred not later than December 31, 1979, and resulted in a death. “(2) Coordination.—In investigating a complaint under paragraph (1), the Supervisory Special Agent may coordinate the investigative activities with State and local law enforcement officials, and eligible entities. “SEC. 5. GRANTS TO STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT.“(a) In General.—The Attorney General may award grants to State or local law enforcement agencies for expenses associated with the investigation and prosecution by them of criminal offenses, involving civil rights, that occurred not later than December 31, 1979, and resulted in a death. “(b) Authorization of Appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2017 and each of the 10 subsequent fiscal years to carry out this section. “SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.“(a) In General.—There are authorized to be appropriated, in addition to any other amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated for this purpose, to the Attorney General $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2017 and each of the 10 subsequent fiscal years for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting violations of criminal civil rights statutes that occurred not later than December 31, 1979, and resulted in a death. These funds shall be allocated by the Attorney General to the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division and the Supervisory Special Agent of the Civil Rights Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to advance the purposes set forth in this Act. “(b) Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice.—Using funds appropriated under section 3(b)(4)(B), the Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice shall provide technical assistance by bringing together law enforcement agencies and communities to address tensions raised by Civil Rights era crimes. “SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.“In this Act:“(1) Criminal civil rights statutes.—The term ‘criminal civil rights statutes’ means—“(A) section 241 of title 18, United States Code (relating to conspiracy against rights); “(B) section 242 of title 18, United States Code (relating to deprivation of rights under color of law); “(C) section 245 of title 18, United States Code (relating to federally protected activities); “(D) sections 1581 and 1584 of title 18, United States Code (relating to involuntary servitude and peonage); “(E) section 901 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3631); and “(F) any other Federal law that—“(i) was in effect on or before December 31, 1969; and “(ii) the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice enforced, before the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 7, 2008]. “(2) Eligible entity.—The term ‘eligible entity’ means an organization whose primary purpose is to promote civil rights, an institution of higher education, or another entity, determined by the Attorney General to be appropriate. “[SEC. 8. Repealed. Pub. L. 114–325, § 2(7), Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1967.] “SEC. 9. AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS GENERAL. “[Enacted section 11298 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law Enforcement.]”

Organized Retail Theft

Pub. L. 109–162, title XI, § 1105, Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3092, as amended by Pub. L. 109–271, § 8(a), Aug. 12, 2006, 120 Stat. 766, which authorized a task force established by the Attorney General and the FBI to establish an organized retail theft database in the private sector, was editorially reclassified as section 41505 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law Enforcement.

United States-Mexico Border Violence Task Force

Pub. L. 109–162, title XI, § 1106, Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3093, providing for the establishment of the United States-Mexico Border Violence Task Force, was editorially reclassified as section 41506 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law Enforcement.

Privacy Officer

Pub. L. 109–162, title XI, § 1174, Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3124, provided that: “(a) In General.—The Attorney General shall designate a senior official in the Department of Justice to assume primary responsibility for privacy policy. “(b) Responsibilities.—The responsibilities of such official shall include advising the Attorney General regarding—“(1) appropriate privacy protections, relating to the collection, storage, use, disclosure, and security of personally identifiable information, with respect to the Department’s existing or proposed information technology and information systems; “(2) privacy implications of legislative and regulatory proposals affecting the Department and involving the collection, storage, use, disclosure, and security of personally identifiable information; “(3) implementation of policies and procedures, including appropriate training and auditing, to ensure the Department’s compliance with privacy-related laws and policies, including section 552a of title 5, United States Code, and Section 208 of the E-Government Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–347) [set out in a note under section 3501 of Title 44, Public Printing and Documents]; “(4) ensuring that adequate resources and staff are devoted to meeting the Department’s privacy-related functions and obligations; “(5) appropriate notifications regarding the Department’s privacy policies and privacy-related inquiry and complaint procedures; and “(6) privacy-related reports from the Department to Congress and the President. “(c) Review of Privacy Related Functions, Resources, and Report.—Within 120 days of his designation, the privacy official shall prepare a comprehensive report to the Attorney General and to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of the Senate, describing the organization and resources of the Department with respect to privacy and related information management functions, including access, security, and records management, assessing the Department’s current and future needs relating to information privacy issues, and making appropriate recommendations regarding the Department’s organizational structure and personnel. “(d) Annual Report.—The privacy official shall submit a report to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of the Senate on an annual basis on activities of the Department that affect privacy, including a summary of complaints of privacy violations, implementation of section 552a of title 5, United States Code, internal controls, and other relevant matters.”

Report to Congress on Status of United States Persons or Residents Detained on Suspicion of Terrorism