FOIA News: SCOTUS asked to reverse consultant corollary doctrine
High Court FOIA Bout Could Expose IRS Contractor Work
By Amy Lee Rosen, Law360, Oct. 27, 2021
The IRS' ability to shield work by outside contractors from disclosure could be undermined if the U.S. Supreme Court reviews a would-be air traffic controller's Freedom of Information Act case against the Federal Aviation Administration and rules against the government.
In a divided en banc decision in March, the Ninth Circuit said documents requested under FOIA by rejected air traffic control candidate Jorge Alejandro Rojas were exempt from release even though they were generated by a third-party consultant. The court reasoned that the "consultant corollary doctrine," a theory adopted by seven circuit courts so far that prevents items from being shared under FOIA, extends to privileged documents prepared by private, outside consultants.