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FOIA News: Another look at SCOTUS nominee's FOIA record

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s FOIA Record

By Stephen Piepgrass & Abby Thornill, Troutman Pepper, Apr. 6, 2022

On February 25, President Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court created by Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement. Judge Jackson’s resume includes almost 10 years of service on the bench — she was first nominated by President Obama to the District Court for the District of Columbia in 2012 and served as a federal trial judge until her appointment to the Circuit Court in 2021. Sitting as a judge in the nation’s capital, her docket included an extensive number of cases involving the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), as individuals and business challenged federal agencies’ withholding of requested documents sought under the federal statute. Judge Jackson’s rulings in many of these cases provides insight into where she stands with respect to important FOIA issues. If she is confirmed to the highest court, Judge Jackson’s stance and views on these issues could affect the privacy interests, intellectual property rights, and business interests of all individuals and business who contract and correspond with government agencies.

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