History and Organization of the Antitrust Division

• Pages: 1-23

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CHAPTER I

HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION OF THE

ANTITRUST DIVISION

A. Creation of the Antitrust Division

Between the Sherman Act’s passage in 1890 and 1903, the Attorney

General enforced the antitrust laws.1 In 1903, the administration of

President Theodore Roosevelt and Attorney General Philander Knox

established the office of Assistant to the Attorney General to take charge

of all antitrust matters.2

In 1933, under the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt

and Attorney General Homer S. Cummings, the Antitrust Division was

founded.3 Its purpose was to establish “its own corps of specialists in

antitrust law to cope with the increasing complexities of antitrust

enforcement.”4 That same year, Harold M. Stephens was appointed the

first Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division.5

B. Purpose of the Antitrust Division

The mission of the Antitrust Division “is the promotion and

maintenance of competition in the American economy.”6 The Division’s

mission is based on the premise that “competition in a free market

benefits American consumers through lower prices, better quality, and

greater choice.”7

The Division’s primary functions and goals include:8

1. See U.S. DEP’T OF JUSTICE , ANTITRUST DIV. MANUAL I-2 (6th ed. rev.

Aug. 2017) [hereinafter Antitrust Div. Manual],

https://www.justice.gov/atr/division-ma nual.

2. See id.

3. See id.

4. Id.

5. See id.

6. Id.

7. About the Division: Mission, U.S. DEP’T OF JUSTIC E, ANTITRUST DIV.,

https://www.justice.gov/atr/mission.

8. See 28 C.F.R. §§0.40, 0.41 (listing the Division’s primary func tions).

2 DOJ Civil Antitrust Practice and Procedure Manual

• “General criminal and civil enforcement of the federal

antitrust laws and other laws relating to the protection of

competition and the prohibition of restraints of trade and

monopolization, including investigation of possible

violations of antitrust laws, conduct of grand jury

proceedings, issuance and enforcement of civil investigative

demands, and prosecution of all litigation that arises out of

such civil and criminal investigations.”9

• Providing guidance to the business community on antitrust

laws, which reduces the costs to businesses of complying

with the law by alleviating uncertainty about the parameters

of legal behavior.10

• Intervention or participation before administrative agencies

functioning under the regulatory statutes in proceedings

requiring consideration of the antitrust laws or competitive

policies.11

• Acting as an advocate for competition before other branches

of government, including: developing and presenting

legislative proposals relating to the antitrust laws for

Congress, advising the President and Executive Branch on

the competitive implications of governmental action,

assembling information and preparing reports relating to the

antitrust laws that are required or requested by the Congress

or the Attorney General, and coordinating antitrust

enforcement efforts with states and international competition

enforcement authorities.12

C. Organization and Structure

The Attorney General and Congress officially approve the

organizational structure of the Antitrust Division.13 An Assistant

9. Antitrust Div. Manual, supra note 1, at I-2.

10. See About the Division: Mission, supra note 7.

11. See Antitrust Div. Manual, supra note 1, at I-2-I-3.

12. See id. at I-3; see also About the Division: Mission, supra note 7.

13. See id. For an overview of the or ganizational structure of the Division,

see About the Division: Sections and Offices, U.S. DEP’T OF JUSTICE,

ANTITRUST DIV., https://www.justice. gov/atr/sections-and-offices. Fo r a

directory of the Division’s sections and offices, see S ections and Offices

Directory, U.S. DEP’T OF JUSTICE, ANTIT RUST DIV.,

https://www.justice.gov/atr/sections-and-of fices-directory.