Below is a summary of the notable FOIA court decisions and news from last month, as well as a peek ahead to events in September.
Court decisions:
We identified and posted 29 decisions issued in August, nearly twice as many as last month (15) and the highest monthly total of the year to date. Of note, in Shapiro v. Dep’t of Justice (D.D.C. Aug. 1, 2024), the FBI failed to persuade the court that 14 unprocessed tabs in its “Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Document Processing System” were either not agency records, required the agency to create new records, or were too burdensome to produce. The government fared better in a pair of decisions issued by the Southern District of New York involving the same parties. In Reclaim the Records v. U.S. Dep't of State (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 7, 2024), the court held that the State Department performed an adequate search for an index or list of vital records of residents of the Panama Canal Zone, and that because of the limited capabilities of the agency’s computer system, fulfilling plaintiff’s request would entail extraordinary effort and creating new records. Less than three weeks later, a different judge reached a similar conclusion regarding plaintiff’s request for an index of reports concerning death of U.S. citizens abroad. See Reclaim the Records v. U.S. Dep't of State (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 26, 2024).
Top News:
On August 15, 2024, the National Archives and Records Administration announced the newest members of the federal FOIA Advisory Committee for the 2024-2026 term, which kicks off next week (see calendar below).
On August 21, 2024, DOJ’s Office of Information Policy announced the dates of its virtual training for government employees and contractors for fiscal year 2025.
September calendar:
Sept. 5, 2024: D.C. Circuit oral argument in America First Legal Foundation v. USDA, No. 23-5173.
Sept. 9, 2024 (10am-1pm): The first meeting of the federal FOIA Advisory Committee for the 2024-2026 term.
Sept. 9, 2024 (1pm-2:15pm): The law firm Covington will discuss how various aspects of FOIA interact with government contracting. The course will primarily focus on federal FOIA law, but there will also be discussion of state FOIA laws.
Sept. 13, 2024: The second meeting of the federal FOIA Advisory Committee for the 2024-2026 term.
Sept. 30, 2024: Last day of fiscal year 2024. FOIA employees rejoice at close of business.