The United States Department of Justice.docVIP

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) Duties 1. Responsible for investigating and prosecuting violations of federal laws. 2. Represents the United States in all legal matters, including cases before the Supreme Court. 3. Enforces all immigration laws, provides information, and processes applications for citizenship 4. Maintains the federal prison system, halfway houses, and community programs History The Attorney General was initially a one-person, part-time job, established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, but this grew with the bureaucracy. At one time the Attorney General gave legal advice to the U.S. Congress as well as the President, but this had stopped by 1819 on account of the workload involved. In 1867, the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, led by Congressman William Lawrence, conducted an inquiry into the creation of a law department headed by the Attorney General and composed of the various department solicitors and United States Attorneys. On February 19, 1868, Lawrence introduced a bill in Congress to create the Department of Justice. This first bill was unsuccessful; however, as Lawrence could not devote enough time to ensure its passage owing to his occupation with the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. A second bill was introduced to Congress by Rhode Island Representative Thomas Jenckes on February 25, 1870, and both the Senate and House passed the bill. President Ulysses S. Grant then signed the bill into law on June 22, 1870. The Department of Justice officially began operations on July 1, 1870. The bill, called the Act to Establish the Department of Justice, did little to change the Attorney Generals responsibilities, and his salary and tenure remained the same. The law did create a new office, that of Solicitor General, to supervise and conduct government litigation in the Supreme Court of the United States. With the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act in 1870, the Federal government in the U.S. began to take on some law enfo