28 U.S.C. § 509 - Functions of the Attorney General

• Cite as: 28 U.S.C. § 509

All functions of other officers of the Department of Justice and all functions of agencies and employees of the Department of Justice are vested in the Attorney General except the functions-

(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.

Cite as 28 U.S.C. § 509

Source: 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.

current through 6/23/2021

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, 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.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FUNCTIONS

For assignment of certain emergency preparedness functions to the Attorney General, see Parts 1, 2, and 11 of Ex. Ord. No. 12656, Nov. 18, 1988, 53 F.R. 47491, set out as a note under section 5195 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.

UNSOLVED CIVIL RIGHTS CRIMES

Pub. L. 110-344, 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.