Midterm Examination

POL 461
Fall, 2006

You are the United States Attorney General!  The General Counsel for the President has submitted a request (below) requesting an Attorney General's Opinion.

What are the constitutional implications of the President issuing a signing statement when he signs a bill into law?  May he limit enforcement of the law in ways that coincide with (or are limited to) the signing statement?  Is the President subject to any legal consequences that arise from enforcement of the newly signed law in ways that limit the reach of the wording of the statute?

Prepare the Opinion of the Attorney General.  Be certain to address the questions that are presented in this request, and be sure to present your responses to those questions clearly.

Examples of Opinions of the Attorneys General can be found at: http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/opinionspage.htm

Examples of recent Signing Statements can be found at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/v42no40.html

This Opinion is Due at the BEGINNING of class, Tuesday, 24 October 2006.  Any Opinion submitted after the beginning of class (3:00 PM) will be penalized one letter grade per hour.  The Opinion is to be typed, single spaced, with a line space between paragraphs, with sections indicated by centered Roman Numerals, and subsections indicated by Uppercase letters.  The Opinion is to be stapled in the upper left hand corner, with the name of the Attorney General issuing the Opinion (i.e., your name) in the upper right hand corner of each page, along with the page number.