Research Guides: Federal Administrative Decisions and Resources: Justice

Mission Statement

To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Justice Dept. Resources

DOJ Agencies
Links to available websites for agencies of the Justice Department in alphabetical order.
Office of Legal Counsel Opinions
Selected opinions for the convenience of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches of the government, and of the professional bar and the general public.

Divisions and Offices

Antitrust Division
Case filings from 1994; public documents including annual report.
Antitrust Case Filings
Includes cases and briefs.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
ATF is a law enforcement agency in the United States’ Department of Justice that protects our communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations, the illegal use and trafficking of firearms, the illegal use and storage of explosives, acts of arson and bombings, acts of terrorism, and the illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products.
ATF Rules and Regulations
ATF makes documents associated with the rulemaking process available on this website. In each section you will find information relevant to the areas that ATF focuses on including firearms, explosives and arson.
Laws on Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Includes National Firearms Act and Gun Control Act.
Open Letters
Open letters to the firearms and explosives industries.

Bureau of Justice Statistics
BJS mission is to collect, analyze, publish, and disseminate information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. BJS was established on December 27, 1979 under the Justice Systems Improvement Act of 1979, Public Law 96-157 (the 1979 Amendment to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, Public Law 90-351).

Civil Rights Division
Created in 1957 by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status and national origin.
Cases and Matters
Cases include criminal, disability, voting, appellate, employment litigation, and housing.

Criminal Division
Develops, enforces, and supervises the application of all federal criminal laws except those specifically assigned to other divisions.
FOIA Library
Policy documents, congressional reports, and news topics.

Drug Enforcement Administration
The mission of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is to enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States and bring to the criminal and civil justice system of the United States, or any other competent jurisdiction, those organizations and principal members of organizations, involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances appearing in or destined for illicit traffic in the United States; and to recommend and support non-enforcement programs aimed at reducing the availability of illicit controlled substances on the domestic and international markets.
Law Enforcement
Diversion Control Division
The mission of DEA's Diversion Control Division is to prevent, detect, and investigate the diversion of controlled pharmaceuticals and listed chemicals from legitimate sources while ensuring an adequate and uninterrupted supply for legitimate medical, commercial, and scientific needs.

Environment & Natural Resource Division
The Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice handles environmental and natural resources litigation on behalf of the United States. The work of the Division arises under approximately 150 federal civil and criminal statutes, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA (Superfund), Safe Drinking Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, and Tucker Act.
FOIA Requests
Proposed Consent Decrees
Links to consent decrees that the Division has recently lodged in the federal district courts and on which the Division is currently accepting public comment.
Selected Publications
Litigation accomplishments, policy statements, administrative staff manuals, and remarks and speeches.

Executive Office for Immigration Review
EOIR's primary mission is to adjudicate immigration cases in a careful and timely manner, including cases involving detained aliens, criminal aliens, and aliens seeking asylum as a form of relief from removal, while ensuring the standards of due process and fair treatment for all parties involved.
Agency Decisions
AG/BIA decisions beginning with vol. 8, OCAHO decisions beginning with vol. 1, cumulative index.
Immigration Law Advisor
Beginning with vol. 1, 2007.
Immigration and Nationality Act
USCIS website, includes links to precedent decisions.
Country Conditions Research
The Country Pages are compiled and updated by the EOIR Law Library and Immigration Research Center (LLIRC). All content is compiled from publicly available documents that report on aspects of country conditions that have relevance in removal hearings before Immigration Judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Investigates terrorism, cybercrime, public corruption, civil rights violations, organized crime, violent crime, and white collar crime.
Reports and Publications
Statistics on various federal crimes, including bank crimes, active shooter incidents, missing persons, and criminal background checks.

Federal Bureau of Prisons
It is the mission of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to protect society by confining offenders in the controlled environments of prisons and community-based facilities that are safe, humane, cost-efficient, and appropriately secure, and that provide work and other self-improvement opportunities to assist offenders in becoming law-abiding citizens.
Find an Inmate
Locate the whereabouts of a federal inmate incarcerated from 1982 to the present.
Resources
Policies and forms, and resources by audience.

Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States (FCSC) is a quasi-judicial, independent agency within the Department of Justice which adjudicates claims of U.S. nationals against foreign governments, under specific jurisdiction conferred by Congress, pursuant to international claims settlement agreements, or at the request of the Secretary of State.
Final Opinions and Orders
Completed Programs
Includes claims under the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 and the War Claims Act of 1948.

Office of the Inspector General
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducts independent investigations, audits, inspections, and special reviews of United States Department of Justice personnel and programs to detect and deter waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct, and to promote integrity, economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in Department of Justice operations.
OIG Reports
The OIG has jurisdiction to review the programs and personnel of the FBI, ATF, BOP, DEA, USAO, USMS, and all other organizations within the Department, as well as contractors of the Department and organizations receiving grant money from the Department. The OIG fulfills this mission, in part, through auditing and inspecting Department programs and issuing reports of its findings.

Office of the Solicitor General
The task of the Office of the Solicitor General is to supervise and conduct government litigation in the United States Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Briefs

Office on Violence Against Women
Provides information about the office, its organization, contact information, and employment & internship opportunities.
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Offers information about help for victims (list of national hotlines, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking resources), specific information on domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence, various grant programs (STOP, grants to Indian Tribal governments, rural grant program, legal assistance for victims grant program, campus grant program, state coalitions grant program, transitional housing grant program, etc.), funding opportunities, fact sheets, special initiatives (family justice center, judicial oversight demonstration initiative, greenbook initiative, VAWA measuring effectiveness initiative), safety for Indian women (grants to tribal communities, section 904 tribal task force, tribal consultation, tribal resources), report to Congress, press releases & remarks, & events & meetings, federal legislation and agencies, and international issues.
Reports to Congress

Tax Division
The Tax Division’s mission is to enforce the nation’s tax laws fully, fairly, and consistently, through both criminal and civil litigation, in order to promote voluntary compliance with the tax laws, maintain public confidence in the integrity of the tax system, and promote the sound development of the law.
Civil Employment Tax Injunctions
Civil injunctions against employers and their principal officers who willfully fail to truthfully collect, account for and deposit employment tax.