Supreme Court Opinion Issues in FOIA Exemption 5 Case
Dep’t of Justice, Office of Info. Pol’y, FOIA Post, Mar. 4, 2021
Today the Supreme Court issued its opinion in United States Fish & Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club, 592 U.S. ___ (2021), holding that “[t]he deliberative process privilege protects from disclosure under FOIA in-house draft biological opinions that are both predecisional and deliberative, even if the drafts reflect the agencies’ last views about a proposal.” The Court’s opinion can be found here.
As with prior Supreme Court decisions and significant FOIA developments, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) will issue guidance and provide training on the impact of this decision. In the meantime, agencies are always welcome to seek advice through OIP’s FOIA Counselor Service.