United States Department of Justice

The United States Department of                 Dept. of Justice
Justice is a Cabinet department in
the United States government
designed to enforce the law and     Established:       June 22, 1870
defend the interests of the United  Activated:         July 1, 1870
States according to the law and to
ensure fair and impartial           Attorney General:  John D. Ashcroft
administration of justice for all   Deputy Atty. Gen.: Larry D. Thompson
Americans. It is administered by
the United States Attorney General, Budget:            $22.2 billion (2003)
one of the original members of the  Employees:         105,953 (2003)
cabinet.

History

Initially the Attorney General was 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 Congress as well as the President,
but this stopped by 1819 due to workload.

Eighty-one years after the establishment of the Office of the Attorney
General, Congress reported a bill to establish a Department of Justice. Both
the Senate and House passed the bill, and President Ulysses S. Grant signed
it on June 22, 1870. Officially, the Department of Justice began operations
on July 1, 1870.

The bill, called the "Act to Establish the Department of Justice," did
little to change the Attorney General's 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 United States
Supreme Court.

Operating Units

   * Antitrust Division
   * Asset Forfeiture Program
   * Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
   * Civil Division
   * Civil Rights Division
   * Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
   * Community Relations Service
   * Criminal Division
   * Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
        o Diversion Control Program
   * Environment and Natural Resources Division
   * Executive Office for Immigration Review
   * Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys
   * Executive Office for U.S. Trustees
   * Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
   * Federal Bureau of Prisons
        o National Institute of Corrections
   * Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States
   * INTERPOL -- U.S. National Central Bureau
   * Justice Management Division
   * National Drug Intelligence Center
   * Office of the Associate Attorney General
   * Office of the Attorney General
   * Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management
   * Office of the Deputy Attorney General
   * Office of Dispute Resolution
   * Office of Information and Privacy
   * Office of the Inspector General
   * Office of Intelligence Policy and Review
   * Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
   * Office of Justice Programs
        o American Indian and Alaska Native Affairs Desk
        o Bureau of Justice Assistance
        o Community Dispute Resolution
        o Corrections Program Office
        o Drug Courts Program Office
        o Executive Office for Weed and Seed
        o National Criminal Justice Reference Service
        o National Institute of Justice
        o Office for Domestic Preparedness
        o Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
        o Office for Victims of Crime
        o Violence Against Women Office
   * Office of Legal Counsel
   * Office of Legal Policy
   * Office of Legislative Affairs
   * Office of the Ombudsperson
   * Office of the Pardon Attorney
   * Office of Professional Responsibility
   * Office of Public Affairs
   * Office of the Solicitor General
   * Office of Tribal Justice
   * Tax Division
   * U.S. Attorneys
   * United States Marshals Service
   * U.S. Parole Commission
   * U.S. Trustee Program

In March 2003, much of the Immigration and Naturalization Service was
transferred to the United States Department of Homeland Security. The
Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Board of Immigration Appeals
which review decisions made by government officials under Immigration and
Nationality law remain under jursidiction of the Department of Justice.