
United States Department of Justice
U.S. federal executive department / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United States. It is equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries. The department is headed by the U.S. attorney general, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet. The current attorney general is Merrick Garland, who was sworn in on March 11, 2021.[7]
![]() Seal of the U.S. Department of Justice | |
![]() Flag of the U.S. Department of Justice | |
![]() The Robert F. Kennedy Building is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Justice. | |
Agency overview | |
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Formed | July 1, 1870; 152 years ago (1870-07-01) |
Type | Executive department |
Jurisdiction | U.S. federal government |
Headquarters | Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C., United States 38°53′36″N 77°1′30″W |
Motto | "Qui Pro Domina Justitia Sequitur" (Latin: "Who prosecutes on behalf of justice (or the Lady Justice)")[1][2] |
Employees | 113,114 (2019)[3] |
Annual budget | $29.9 billion (FY 2019)[3] |
Agency executives | |
Website | Justice.gov |
The modern incarnation of the Justice Department was formed in 1870 during the Ulysses S. Grant presidency. The department comprises federal law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It also has eight major divisions of lawyers who represent the U.S. federal government in litigation: the Civil, Criminal, Civil Rights, Antitrust, Tax, Environment and Natural Resources, National Security, and Justice Management Divisions. The department also includes the U.S. Attorneys' Offices for each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts.
The primary actions of the DOJ are representing the U.S. government in legal matters and running the federal prison system.[8][9] The department is also responsible for reviewing the conduct of local law enforcement as directed by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.[10]