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Executive Orders Historical Archive
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Executive Order 11236 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Executive Order 11236—Establishing the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice

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Friday, July 23, 1965
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4 min read (795 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 4 min read (795 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

There is hereby established the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (hereafter referred to as the "Commission").

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 23, 1965, this order concerns Establishing the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice. Establishment of Commission. (a) There is hereby established the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (hereafter referred to as the "Commission"). (b) The Commission shall be composed of such members, not to exceed twenty, as the President shall appoint, one of whom shall be designated by the President as the chairman.

Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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There is hereby established the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (hereafter referred to as the "Commission").

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The Commission shall be composed of such members, not to exceed twenty, as the President shall appoint, one of whom shall be designated by the President as the chairman.

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The members and chairman of the Commission shall serve at the pleasure of the President.

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The President shall appoint an Executive Secretary, who shall receive such compensation as the President shall specify.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
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"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Supportive of Execution
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)

The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
46 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

High Friction

Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Moderate Friction

Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
795
5,223 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
15.3
College Level
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Establishment of Commission. (a) There is hereby established the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (hereafter referred to as the "Commission"). (b) The Commission shall be composed of such members, not to exceed twenty, as the President shall appoint, one of whom shall be designated by the President as the chairman. The members and chairman of the Commission shall serve at the pleasure of the President. (c) The President shall appoint an Executive Secretary, who shall receive such compensation as the President shall specify. The functions and duties of the Executive Secretary shall be prescribed by the Commission. SEC. 2. Functions of Commission. The Commission shall: (1) Inquire into the causes of crime and delinquency, measures for their prevention, the adequacy of law enforcement and administration of justice, and the factors encouraging respect or disrespect for law, at the national, State, and local levels, and make such studies, conduct such hearings, and request such information as it deems appropriate for this purpose. (2) Develop standards and make recommendations for actions which can be taken by the Federal, State, and local governments, and by private persons and organizations, to prevent, reduce, and control crime and increase respect for law, including, but not limited to, improvements in training and qualifications of personnel engaged in law enforcement and related activities, improvements in techniques, organization, and administration of law enforcement activities, improvements in the administration of justice, improvements in correction and rehabilitation of convicted offenders and juvenile delinquents, promotion of better understanding between law, enforcement officials and other members of the community, and promotion of greater respect for law throughout the community. SEC. 3. Executive Departments and Agencies; Judiciary. The Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity each shall designate a representative to serve with the Commission as liaison. All executive departments and agencies shall cooperate with the Commission and furnish it such information and assistance, not inconsistent with law, as it, may require in the performance of its functions and duties. The Commission shall consult, as it deems appropriate, with members of the Federal, State, and local judiciary and their assistants concerning matters of common interest. SEC. 4. Appointment of Committees. The Chairman of the Commission, after consultation with the other members, and at such times as the Commission may deem appropriate, shall constitute Citizens Advisory Committees (hereafter referred to as the "Committees") composed of persons (including persons from State and local governments and other public and voluntary organizations) who are authorities in professional or technical fields related to crime or juvenile delinquency, or persons representative of the general public who are leaders in activities concerned with crime or juvenile delinquency. The Committees, and persons who are members, shall serve at the pleasure of the Commission. SEC. 5. Functions of Committees. The Committees shall furnish the Commission information, advice, and recommendations with respect to the functions set forth in section 2 of this order and shall engage in such other activities as the Commission may deem appropriate. SEC. 6, Compensation, Personnel, and Finance. (a) Members of the Commission not otherwise employed by the United States shall receive $100 per diem when engaged in the performance of duties pursuant to this order, and shall be allowed travel expenses and per diem in lieu of subsistence as authorized by law (5 U.S.C. 55a; 5 U.S.C. 73b-2) for persons employed intermittently. (b) The Commission is authorized to appoint and fix the compensation of such other personnel as may be necessary to enable it to carry out its functions. (c) The Commission is authorized to obtain services, including the services of individuals as members of Committees, in accordance with the provisions of section 15 of the Act of August 2, 1946 (5 U.S.C. 55a), at rates for individuals not to exceed $100 per diem. (d) All necessary expenses incurred in Connection with the work of the Commission shall be paid from the "Special Projects" fund of the President or such other appropriated funds as may be available for the purposes of the Commission. SEC. 7. Administrative Services. The General Services Administration shall provide administrative services fo,r the Commission on a reimbursable basis. SEC. 8. Reports to the President and Termination. The Commission shall make reports and recommendations to the President from time to time as it deems suitable and shall present a final report and recommendations not later than eighteen months from the date of this order. The Commission shall terminate not later than ninety days after presenting such final report and recommendations. LYNDON B. JOHNSON The White House, July 23, 1965

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 11,236 (July 23, 1965), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11236-establishing-the-presidents-commission-law-enforcement-and.