- Approximately 100 attorneys are employed by the Federal
Programs Branch
- The Branch litigates on behalf of approximately 100 federal
agencies, the President and Cabinet officers, and other government officials.
Activities in the Federal Programs Branch include the defense
against constitutional challenges to federal statutes, suits to overturn government
policies and programs, and attacks on the legality of government decisions.
The Federal Programs Branch also initiates litigation to enforce regulatory
statutes and to remedy statutory and regulatory violations. Federal Programs'
attorneys have the opportunity to handle diverse issues from a variety of subject
areas.
National Security, Foreign Relations,
and Law Enforcement B Attorneys are involved in
critical and highly visible litigation on behalf of the Departments of State,
Treasury and Defense. The Branch has represented these departments in cases
involving international terrorism and treaties.
Interstate and Foreign Commerce
B Attorneys represent the Treasury Department in litigation challenging economic
sanctions and commerce laws.
Government Agencies and Corporations
B Attorneys defend a variety of agencies, including the Postal Service, the
Department of Veterans Affairs, and the White House.
Nondiscrimination Personnel Litigation
B Attorneys handle cases involving constitutional, statutory, and other issues
of appointment and removal of officers and employees of the
United States, including Presidential appointees.
This area also includes First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, and other constitutional
challenges to government‑wide statutes.
Discrimination in Employment Litigation
B Attorneys defend against suits alleging discrimination in federal employment
under the U.S. Constitution and a number of federal statutes and Executive Orders.
The Federal Programs Branch defends a number of complex Title VII class actions,
as well as high‑profile or novel individual cases. Since the authorization
of compensatory damages and jury trials in 1991, this field of litigation has
seen explosive growth in both the number and complexity of cases.
Human Resources
B Attorneys focus on challenges to the wide variety of programs administered
by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Education.
Interior, Agriculture, and Energy
Concerns B Attorneys handle a variety of cases
including USDA's commodity marketing and promotion order programs, the Food
Stamp program, and meat safety and inspection services.
Housing and Community Development
B Attorneys address housing and housing‑related cases involving the rights of
tenants in federally‑subsidized housing, the government's obligations to public
housing authorities (PHAs), the disposition of HUD‑owned mortgages, rural housing
programs, and housing for the homeless.
Freedom of Information and Privacy
B Attorneys defend against lawsuits seeking documents used or created by government
agencies. This includes litigation over materials related to FBI actions and
the documents related to FBI investigations, including the FBI's crime lab and
its handling of evidence.
Regulatory Enforcement and Defensive
Banking Litigation B Attorneys ensure compliance
with federal statutes and regulations by initiating enforcement actions on behalf
of federal agencies.
Disability Litigation
B Attorneys handle nationwide, class-action lawsuits attempting to effect substantive
changes in the Social Security Administration's regulations and procedures.
Examples
of our practice
Affirmative
Litigation
The Federal Programs Branch is responsible for civil penalty
actions, subpoena enforcement actions, and suits for injunctive relief based
on statutory and constitutional violations. For example, the Branch filed an
action on behalf of the Department of Energy against the Governor of South Carolina
seeking injunctive relief to prevent the blockade of surplus plutonium to federal
facilities in South Carolina. The Branch also brought an action
against the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore & Warehousemen's
Union to enjoin an ongoing lockout at all 29 ports along the west
coast.
International
Terrorism
Since September 11, 2001, the Federal Programs Branch has
played a significant role in the on-going implementation of the President's
global terrorism executive order, by which the assets of hundreds of terrorists
or their financiers have been frozen. The Branch has also defended against
attempts by designated entities to challenge the statutory and constitutional
authority of the President to freeze their assets, as well as the underlying
factual bases supporting their designations. The Branch has also represented
the Departments of State, Treasury, and Defense in cases in which victims of
international terrorism have tried to satisfy multi-million dollar court judgments
that these victims have obtained against sovereign nations. The plaintiffs
have endeavored to attach assets in the United States that are "blocked" pursuant
to government sanction programs.
Internet/Pornography
Litigation
The Federal Programs Branch has defended Congress' efforts
to restrict the access of children to pornography that is otherwise accessible
to them over the Internet. Since 1998, the Branch has been defending the Child
Online Protection Act, which seeks to restrict access to pornographic Web sites.
More recently, the Branch has defended the Children's Internet Protection Act,
which conditions the receipt by public libraries of certain federal benefits
and discounts on their installing filtering software on their computer terminals
that access the Internet.
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