The ''Justice Manual'' (known before 2018 as the ''United States Attorneys' Manual'') is a looseleaf text designed as a quick and ready reference for
United States Attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
s and other employees of the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
responsible for the prosecution of violations of
federal law
Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a group of political units, such as states or provinces join in a federation, delegating their individual sovereignty and many po ...
. It contains general policies and guidance relevant to the work of the United States Attorneys' offices and to their relations with the legal divisions, investigative agencies, and other components within the Department of Justice.
The ''Manual'' is an internal document of the Department of Justice, and as such, does not have the force of law. It is updated periodically in much the same way as commercial
looseleaf service
A looseleaf service is a type of publication used in legal research which brings together both primary and secondary source materials on a specific field or topic in law. Available through HeinOnline. For this reason they are sometimes called "su ...
s are. New hard copies of the manual are issued annually to the department's attorneys. It is also available online.
History
The last comprehensive update of the manual was in 2018, the first major revision in more than two decades.
[Department of Justice Announces the Rollout of an Updated United States Attorneys' Manual]
(press release), United States Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs (September 25, 2018). At the same time, the manual was renamed the ''Justice Manual''.
[Justice Manual]
United States Department of Justice (last accessed January 1, 2021). Two controversial changes in the revision were the removals of sections regarding press freedom and racial gerrymandering.
Organization
The ''Justice Manual'' is divided into nine titles:[
# Organization and Functions
# Appeals
# Executive Office for United States Attorneys
# ]Civil
Civil may refer to:
*Civic virtue, or civility
*Civil action, or lawsuit
* Civil affairs
*Civil and political rights
*Civil disobedience
*Civil engineering
*Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism
*Civilian, someone not a membe ...
# Environment and Natural Resources Division
# Tax
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
# Antitrust
Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
# Civil Rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
# Criminal
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
Each title has a corresponding Resource Manual that includes copies of policies, form letters, and other documents.[
]
References
*
External links
''Justice Manual'' online
{{US Administrative law
Handbooks and manuals
Legal literature
United States Department of Justice publications