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Title: John M. Binckley to Henry J. Adams, 25 March 1868
Date: March 25, 1868
Whitman Archive ID: nar.00482
Source: National Archives and Records Administration. Transcribed from digital images or a microfilm reproduction of the original item. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
Contributors to digital file: Elizabeth Lorang, Kevin McMullen, John Schwaninger, and Nima Najafi Kianfar
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March 25, 1868.
Henry J. Adams, Esq.
Leavenworth, Kansas.
Sir:
We have your letter of the 17th instant, in which you inquire, substantially, whether the United States Courts have jurisdiction in a class of suits indicated by you,—and ask that an opinion be given, and communicated to the District Attorney for his instruction. I have to say, in reply, that jurisdiction is a question for the Courts; the Attorney General's opinions are given, by law, only to the President and heads of Departments; and instructions to District Attorneys in particular cases are given only when such cases have arisen and are officially before us.
Respectfully, &c.
John M. Binckley,
Assistant Attorney General.