Opinion ID: 600710
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Case Law Construing Other Statutes

Text: 91 The Department of Justice relies primarily on two cases, Federal Trade Commission v. Guignon, 390 F.2d 323 (8th Cir.1968), and Interstate Commerce Commission v. Southern Ry. Co., 543 F.2d 534 (5th Cir.1976), to support its contention that the PRA cannot be construed to permit the Postal Service to seek judicial review without the Attorney General's involvement or consent under the present circumstances. These cases, however, are distinguishable in that, in each, the agency's own statute clearly provided that the litigation at issue could be initiated only at the instance of the Attorney General. 92 In Guignon, the Eighth Circuit held that the Federal Trade Commission Act did not grant the FTC authority to enforce its subpoenas in district court without the aid or consent of the Attorney General. Although the Act gave the Commission the power to issue subpoenas and to invoke the aid of federal courts, it also expressly provided that the district courts would have jurisdiction to order compliance with the Commission's orders only [u]pon the application of the Attorney General of the [300 U.S.App.D.C. 62] United States, at the request of the Commission. Id. (emphasis added). The Act's legislative history directly underscored Congress' intent that the Attorney General alone could seek judicial enforcement of an FTC subpoena. See id. at 326. By contrast, neither the PRA nor its legislative history provides such an express indication that Congress contemplated action only upon the initiative of the Attorney General. To the contrary, the language and history of the PRA belie such an intent. 93 Interstate Commerce Commission v. Southern Ry. Co., 543 F.2d 534 (5th Cir.1976), is similarly distinguishable. The Fifth Circuit's conclusion that only the Attorney General could bring enforcement actions on behalf of the ICC was based largely on the explicit language of the statute, which provided that [a]ll actions ... shall be brought by or against the United States, 28 U.S.C. § 2322 (emphasis added), and that the Attorney General shall represent the Government in the actions specified.... Id. §§ 2322, 2323 (emphasis added). Moreover, the court found that the legislative history of the statute supported the view that only the Attorney General could initiate actions. 8 Finally, prior to the enactment of the new statute, the ICC was authorized to apply in its own name to a court for enforcement of its orders. 543 F.2d at 536 (citing Act of June 29, 1906, ch. 3591, § 5, 35 Stat. 591). The deletion of this provision removed any doubt about the ICC's authority to initiate enforcement proceedings. Id. at 537. The case before us differs in several significant ways: instead of providing that the Department of Justice shall bring an action, the PRA provides only that it shall furnish such legal representation as the Postal Service may require; the statute incorporates certain provisions of title 28, yet excludes those concerning the Attorney General's conduct and supervision of litigation; and the legislative history points unmistakably toward Postal Service independence and initiative. 94 The present case is also distinguishable from Guignon and Southern Railway in that it involves judicial review, rather than enforcement. The Supreme Court has recognized the importance of the Attorney General's review and approval of agency enforcement actions: 95 It was intended by Congress in providing this method of enforcing the orders of the Federal Trade Commission to impose upon the Attorney General the duty of examining the scope and propriety of the orders, and of sifting out of the mass of inquiries what in his judgment was pertinent and lawful.... The wide scope and variety of the questions, answers to which are asked in these orders, show the wisdom of requiring the chief law officer of the government to exercise a sound discretion in designating inquiries to enforce which he shall feel justified in invoking the action of the court. 96 FTC v. Claire Furnace Company, 274 U.S. 160, 174, 47 S.Ct. 553, 556, 71 L.Ed. 978 (1927). See also Guignon, 390 F.2d at 326 (distinguishing between the FTC's authority to seek enforcement of its orders in district court and defending its orders in the courts of appeals). The Postal Reorganization Act, by contrast, requires the Board of Governors, not the Attorney General, to designate those PRC recommendations that justify review in court. Normally, where the responsibility for rendering a decision is vested in a coordinate branch of Government, the duty of the [300 U.S.App.D.C. 63] Department of Justice is to implement that decision and not to repudiate it. S & E Contractors, Inc. v. United States, 406 U.S. 1, 13, 92 S.Ct. 1411, 1418, 31 L.Ed.2d 658 (1972). 97 Finally, this is not a case involving a repeal by implication of the statutory authority of the Attorney General. In the leading case of United States v. Morgan, 222 U.S. 274, 32 S.Ct. 81, 56 L.Ed. 198 (1911), the Supreme Court considered a food and drug statute that compelled a district attorney to prosecute certain cases when the Secretary of Agriculture presented satisfactory evidence of a violation. Id. at 280, 32 S.Ct. at 81. Defendants challenged their convictions on the ground that they had not been provided a preliminary hearing in the Department of Agriculture, as required by a separate section of the Act. The Court decided that any violations of the Act did not interfere with the district attorney's statutory duty to prosecute all delinquents for crimes and offenses under the laws of the United States. Id. at 281, 32 S.Ct. at 82. The Court stated that [r]epeals by implication [were] not favored, and that it would not graft such an exception upon the criminal law without a clear and unambiguous expression of the legislative will. Id. at 281-82, 32 S.Ct. at 82. Courts have cited Morgan for the proposition that a court will not diminish the statutory authority of the Attorney General to control litigation without a clear and unambiguous directive from Congress. See, e.g., United States v. Hercules, Inc., 961 F.2d 796, 798 (8th Cir.1992); United States v. Orkin Exterminating Co., Inc., 688 F.Supp. 223, 224 (W.D.Va.1988). 98 Morgan, however, is clearly distinguishable from the present case. The Morgan Court asked only whether the statutory grant of responsibility to one federal actor, the Secretary of Agriculture, could, without more, be construed to repeal the independent statutory duty imposed on another, the district attorney. See Orkin, supra, at 226 (statute authorizing the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to authorize state prosecutions of environmental law does not diminish the Attorney General's statutory authority to bring criminal prosecutions of same law). Here, by contrast, the applicable statutes--the Postal Reorganization Act and the Hobbs Act--delineate the relative responsibilities of the Board of Governors and the Attorney General. Most significantly, the judicial review provisions of §§ 3625(c) and 3628 qualify the Attorney General's customary role in Postal Service litigation, as defined in § 409(d). Moreover, even the broader role contemplated in § 409(d)--the furnishing of or consent to legal representation--is more circumscribed than a directive that the Attorney General shall conduct or supervise agency litigation. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 516, 519. Clearly, the statute contemplated at least shared litigation responsibilities. 99 Granted, these responsibilities are not stated concisely in one provision, cf. Guignon, 390 F.2d at 325, but that is not fatal. Indicating these responsibilities by reference to or incorporation of other provisions or other statutes only adds a few steps to the analysis. It does not make Congress' intent ambiguous or unclear. The will of Congress can be apparent from the structure and purposes of a statute, as well as from a single provision. 100 Finally, unlike in Morgan, in which the defendants' construction of the statute would have stripped the district attorney of his statutory authority--and obligation--to prosecute certain violations of federal laws, we have not operated a wholesale repeal of the Attorney General's statutory role in Postal Service litigation. To the contrary, we have conscientiously endeavored to reconcile all the applicable statutes and to respect the Attorney General's statutory role in Postal Service litigation. Our narrow decision does not even reach the Attorney General's role in any Postal Service litigation other than judicial review of Postal Service orders under § 3628. Even in the context of judicial review, we preserve the Attorney General's initial responsibility to furnish the legal representation the Postal Service requires, whether in initiating review or in responding to a private party challenge. Finally, we leave untouched [300 U.S.App.D.C. 64] the Attorney General's statutory authority to represent the Government's interests in any judicial proceedings reviewing decisions of the Postal Service or the Postal Rate Commission.