Pickard v. Dep't of Justice (N.D. Cal.) -- ordering the Drug Enforcement Administration to release three categories of information about a confidential informant who testified against plaintiff, because the magistrate judge found that the DEA did not provide reasons for nondisclosure that were sufficiently tailored to the case.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Airaj v. U.S. Dep't of State (D.D.C.) -- ruling that the agency conducted a reasonable search for records pertaining to plaintiff's application for a special immigration visa, and that it properly withheld certain records pursuant to Exemption 3 (in conjunction with the Immigration Nationality Act) and Exemptions 6 and 7(C).
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Bagwell v. U.S. Dep't of Educ. (D.D.C.) -- ruling that agency properly withheld certain compliance records and correspondence pertaining to Penn State University pursuant to Exemptions 6, 7(C), 7(E), and 3 (in conjunction with the Higher Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. § 1099c-l).
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
April 22, 2016
Behrens v. U.S. Attorney (D.D.C.) -- ruling that the government's search was inadequate because the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys failed to search plaintiff's criminal case file for a court order issued in related civil case involving plaintiff and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
April 21, 2016
Am. Civil Liberties Union v. DOJ (D.C. Cir.) (unpublished opinion) -- affirming lower court's decision that the CIA properly relied upon Exemption 1 to withhold records related to the United States’ use of armed drones to conduct “targeted killings.”
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Schotz v. U.S. Dep't of Justice (D.D.C.) -- finding that the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys performed adequate searches in response to inmate's ten requests; further finding that BOP properly redacted certain telephone numbers pursuant to Exemption 7(C).
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Harvey v. Lynch (D.D.C.) -- denying plaintiff an award of costs after determining that his lawsuit was not the catalyst for the release of records by the Federal Bureau of Prisons; rather, the court found that BOP initiated its search shortly after receiving the request and that its delayed response was due to limited resources and the agency's first-in/first out policy for processing requests.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Freedom Watch v. U.S. Dep't of State (D.D.C.) -- on remand from the D.C. Circuit, ruling that the State Department conducted an adequate search of Hillary Clinton's emails for documents relating to a type of sanctions waiver the U.S. State Department granted to certain countries doing business with Iran. The court pointed out that plaintiff's arguments in opposition to the agency's search had been raised and rejected in earlier briefing, prompting the court to criticize plaintiff for ignoring its prior opinion and for submitting "sloppy work."
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Buckovetz v. U.S. Dep't of the Navy (S.D. Cal.) -- denying government's summary judgment motion concerning records of a sexual harassment complaint maintained by U.S. Marine Corps. The court held that the government had failed to demonstrate that it conducted an adequate search, noting that the government did not even address plaintiff's argument that an additional office would likely maintain records. With respect to withholdings that the agency made pursuant to Exemptions 6 and 7(C), the court found that the agency declaration was "vague and conclusory" and that the Vaughn Index was "largely inadequate." Similarly, the court observed that the Vaughn Index did not address a single document withheld, in full or in part, under Exemption 5, and that the agency declaration failed to describe the requested documents in detail.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Benjamin v. U.S. Dep't of State (D.D.C.) -- determining that the agency properly relied upon Exemption 1 to withhold certain information from documents relating to the U.S. government's role in a June 1957 coup d'état in Haiti.
Robinson v. Drug Enforcement Agency (S.D. Miss.) -- dismissing lawsuit because plaintiff, a federal inmate, had knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to request his criminal case records as part of plea agreement.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Animal Legal Def. Fund v. Food & Drug Admin. (9th Cir.) -- affirming district court's decision that the FDA properly invoked Exemption 4 to protect certain commercial information pertaining to egg-production farms in Texas. In a per curiam concurring opinion, however, the panel recommended that the Ninth Circuit reconsider its use of a deferential standard of review "in cases such as this one -- where the factual inquiry on which the summary judgment turns is one that does not depend on a review of withheld information."
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.