FOIA Advisor

FOIA News: Discussion of Second Circuit's Exemption 7(E) decision

FOIA News (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

Knight First Amendment Institute v. United States Citizenship & Immigration Services: The Second Circuit Speaks

By Bernard Bell, Yale J. on Reg., Apr. 19, 2022

Recently, the Second Circuit issued a significant Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) decision construing the FOIA exemption covering law enforcement records that “would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law,” 5 U.S.C. §552(b)(7)(E).  The decision, Knight First Amendment Institute v. U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, 2022 WL 1020379 (2d Cir. April 6, 2022)(casetext version here),[1] involved documents redacted for “national security” related purposes, which may well have influenced the outcome.  This post will summarize the decision, and offers a brief commentary.

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