PUBLIC CITIZEN V. DOJ
491 U.S. 440 (1989)
NATURE OF THE CASE: WLF (P) appealed a dismissal of its action under the FACA.
FACTS: FACA was created to assess the need for the 'numerous committees, boards,
commissions, councils, and similar which have been established to advise officers and
agencies in the executive branch of the Federal Government.' It was to ensure that new
advisory committees be established only when essential, and that their number be minimized;
that they be terminated when they have outlived their usefulness; that their creation,
operation, and duration be subject to uniform standards and procedures; that Congress and
the public remain apprised of their existence, activities, and cost; and that their work be
exclusively advisory in nature. Washington Legal Foundation (P) filed suit against the
Justice Department (D) after the ABA Committee refused P's request for the names of
potential nominees it was considering and for its reports and minutes of its meetings. P
sued under the FACA, which defines an 'advisory committee' as any group 'established or
utilized' by the President or an agency to give advice on public questions, and requires a
covered group to file a charter, afford notice of its meetings, open those meetings to the
public, and make its minutes, records, and reports available to the public. P contends that
the ABA Committee must file a charter, afford notice of its meetings, open those meetings to
the public, and make its minutes, records, and reports available for public inspection and
copying. D moved to dismiss, arguing that the ABA Committee did not fall within FACA's
definition of 'advisory committee' and that, if it did, FACA would violate the
constitutional doctrine of separation of powers. The court dismissed the action in that the
FACA cannot be applied to the ABA Committee because it would violate the express separation
of nomination and consent powers set forth in Article II of the Constitution.
ISSUE:
RULE OF LAW:
HOLDING AND DECISION:
LEGAL ANALYSIS:
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