De Sousa v. CIA (D.D.C.) -- finding that: (1) CIA properly refused to confirm or deny existence of various records concerning kidnapping of Abu Omar pursuant to Exemption 1; (2) State Department properly issued a partial Glomar response in order to protect classified information; (3) Department of Defense needed to supplement record as to whether it expressly adopted a draft letter as final agency policy.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Gahagan v. U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Servs. (E.D. La.) -- stating that "[t]he Court will not reconsider its prior ruling based on any clarity finally achieved [by USCIS] only after a Court-ordered search and submission that was prompted by the agency's own inadequate presentation. USCIS cannot retroactively satisfy its burden to show an adequate search had been conducted after haphazardly filing incomplete or inaccurate affidavits, confusing the bar, the Court, and the public it is intended to serve."
Wu v. Nat'l Geospatial Intelligence Agency (D. Conn.) -- holding that agency performed a reasonable search for satellite images at or near plaintiff's residence.
Ahuruonye v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior (D.D.C.) -- finding that U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service conducted an adequate search for personnel records concerning plaintiff.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Codrea v. ATF (D.D.C.) -- concluding that Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives properly relied upon Exemption 7(E) to withhold certain "instructions, policies or guidance given to agents who serve as hearing officers, or to their superiors, in connection with determining whether an [firearm] license should be revoked or suspended, or issuance of a license be denied, or a civil fine imposed."
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Edelman v. Sec. & Exch. Comm'n (D.D.C) -- determining that the SEC performed a reasonable search for consumer complaints regarding a real estate trust and that it properly withheld certain information pursuant to the deliberative process privilege. Further, the court rejected the agency's categorical withholding of all names of consumer complainants under Exemption 6 and ordering the parties to meet and confer on the issue.
Shapiro v. U.S. Dep't of Justice (D.D.C.) -- ruling that: (1) FBI properly invoked Exemption 7(E) to withhold search slips generated in response to certain FOIA requests seeking records concerning domestic terrorism investigations; (2) parties must meet and confer concerning FBI's "sensitive case file numbers or sub-files," which court found meets the threshold test of Exemption 7(E); (3) FBI properly withheld certain investigatory records pertaining to murder of Hyram Kitchen pursuant to Exemptions 1 and 5, but that neither party was entitled to summary judgment with respect to Exemption 3; and (4) FBI was required to submit sample, redacted documents to permit court to evaluate issue of segregability.
Johnson v. United States (D.D.C.) -- dismissing action against EEOC because it released all records requested by plaintiff, and dismissing action against Office of Personnel management because plaintiff failed to submit a request before filing lawsuit.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
House v. U.S. Dep't of Justice (D.D.C.) -- granting government's renewed motion for summary judgment after determining that the Criminal Division performed an adequate search for records concerning plaintiff's criminal prosecution.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Parker v. U.S. Immigration & Customs Enf't (D.D.C.) -- deciding that ICE failed to perform an adequate search for certain records concerning its investigation of plaintiff, and that the agency properly withheld certain information pursuant to Exemptions 7(C) and 7(E).
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Mar. 1, 2017
Our Children's Earth Found. v. Nat'l Marine Fisheries Serv. (N.D. Cal.) -- determining that plaintiffs were eligible and entitled to attorney's fees and costs, but rejecting their request for $723,202.74 because of unreasonable hourly rates and excessive or redundant work.
Feb. 28, 2017
Walston v. DOD (D.D.C.) -- concluding that: (1) the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) failed to perform an adequate search for records concerning plaintiff's complaint to DISA's Inspector General; (2) DISA properly withheld one record pursuant to attorney-client privilege; and (3) DISA properly redacted identifying information of agency investigators pursuant to Exemption 6.
Feb. 27, 2017
Broward Bulldog, Inc. v. U.S. Dep't of Justice (S.D. Fla.) -- in case involving Exemptions 1, 3, 5, 6, 7(A), 7(C), 7(D), and 7(E), granting in part and denying in part government's summary judgment motion with respect to four disputed documents concerning FBI investigation of a Saudi family in Florida after September 11, 2001.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Gilliam v. U.S. Dep't of Justice (D.D.C.) -- concluding that Drug Enforcement Administration performed a reasonable search for records concerning investigation that led to plaintiff's drug trafficking conviction and that DEA properly withheld certain records pursuant to Exemptions 7(C), 7(D), and 7(E).
Reporters Comm. for Freedom Press v. FBI (D.D.C.) -- ruling that FBI performed a reasonable search for records concerning the agency's alleged practice of impersonating the news media and that it properly withheld certain records pursuant to Exemptions 1, 3 (Nat'l Sec. Act of 1947), 5 (attorney work-product), 6, 7(C), and 7(E).
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Calderon v. U.S. Dep't of Agric. (D.D.C.) -- ruling that: (1) Exemption 4 applies to some but not all requested information concerning Export Credit Guarantee Program overseen by Foreign Agricultural Service; (2) Exemption 6 protected email addresses and telephone numbers of company employees, but not their names or business addresses.
N.Y. Times v. DOJ (S.D.N.Y.) -- granting in part and denying in part the parties' summary judgment motion in case involving the applicability of Exemption 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7(C) to five memoranda relating to agency's investigation into legality of certain CIA overseas interrogations.
Elec. Privacy Info. Ctr. v. FBI (D.D.C.) -- ruling that the FBI failed to conduct an adequate search or to properly justify its use of Exemption 7(E), and granting the agency an opportunity to supplement the record to demonstrate that the requested unpublished privacy assessments meet Exemption 7(E)'s threshold "compiled for law enforcement purposes" requirement.
Judicial Watch v. U.S. Dep't of State (D.D.C.) -- granting agency's motion for summary judgment in case concerning thirty documents about former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's non-"state.gov" e-mail communications, which had been withheld in full under Exemption 5, in conjunction with the deliberative process privilege, and rejecting requester's invocation of the government-misconduct exception.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Rodriguez v. DOD (D.D.C) -- concluding that agency unreasonably limited scope of search and failed to demonstrate that search was reasonably calculated to uncover all responsive records.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.