Chetal v. U.S. Dep't of Interior (N.D. Cal.) -- finding that U.S. Bureau of Land Management performed adequate search and released all responsive records pertaining to ownership of certain mineral rights in Wyoming, except for information on online database that court ordered government to produce.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals v. USDA (D.C. Cir.) -- (1) reversing district court’s decision that plaintiff had failed to challenge agency’s redactions on records re-posted to its website and remanding for adjudication on merits; (2) affirming district court’s mootness dismissal as to research reports, but remanding for further agency clarification as to agency’s plans to posting inspection reports and lists of entities licensed under Animal Welfare Act.
Highland Capital Mgmt. v. IRS (N.D. Tex.) -- determining that: (1) IRS performed adequate search for records concerning Chief Counsel’s memorandum about agency’s audit of plaintiff; (2) 26 U.S.C. § 6110 was exclusive method for obtaining certain records sought by plaintiff; (3) IRS properly withheld records pursuant to Exemption 3, in conjunction with 26 U.S.C. § 6103(a), as well as Exemption 7(A) and (4) IRS failed to provide sufficient information with respect to its Exemption 5 withholdings under the deliberative process and attorney-client privileges.
Campaign Legal Ctr. v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- concluding that DOJ improperly relied on Exemption 6 to withhold names of individuals who were carbon copied on email that reached the Attorney General regarding formation of Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Judicial Watch v. U.S. Dep't of State (D.D.C.) -- holding that agency properly relied on Exemptions 1 and 3 in refusing to confirm or deny the existence of communications between Samantha Power, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and U.S. intelligence agencies regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Pinnicchia v. U.S. Dep't of Veterans Affairs (D. Conn.) -- concluding that agency properly relied on Exemptions 6 and 7(C) to withhold name and identifying information of individual who falsely accused plaintiff of misconduct.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Judicial Watch v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- concluding that FBI failed to conduct adequate search for records concerning Peter Strzok’s assignment to and from Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation, noting that FBI neglected to use reasonable search terms or to search records of senior staff.
Buzzfeed v. DOJ (S.D.N.Y.) -- ruling that Exemptions 6 and 7(C) did not protect identities of U.S. Attorney and Supervisory AUSA who openly engaged in improper relationship that impacted operations of entire office, but did protect identity of third party connected with separate, unsubstantiated allegation of U.S. Attorney’s misconduct.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Am. Small Bus. League v. DOD (N.D. Cal., 2019) -- ruling that: (1) DOD performed reasonable search for contracting records and communications between government and contractor in earlier FOIA litigation; (2) agency improperly relied on Exemption 3 (Procurement Integrity Act ) to withhold subcontracting performance and compliance records relating to contracts that were already awarded; (3) neither party established absence of material facts regarding applicability of Exemption 4 to subcontracting plans; (4) DOD release all communications that were not legitimately made pursuant to a joint defense agreement (unless protected by another FOIA exemption); and (5) agency properly withheld third-party information pursuant to Exemption 6, to which plaintiff did not object.
Niro v. IRS (D. Mass.) -- determining that agency performed adequate search for audit records concerning plaintiff’s tax returns and that it properly withheld records pursuant to Exemptions 3, 7(C), and 7(E).
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Sunshine Week Puts Spotlight on Accessing Government Information
Sunday marks the start of Sunshine Week, an effort to highlight the role of freedom of information at all levels of the U.S. government.
The week brings together a range of groups including media outlets, government officials, nonprofit organizations, schools, and libraries in an effort to promote and explain the importance of open government and how individuals and groups can access government data.
Kevin Goldberg, the legal counsel for the American Society of News Editors — the group that organizes Sunshine Week along with Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press — told VOA that one of the main goals for the week is to educate people on what it means to have an open government and why that is important.
Read more here.
Beagles v. DOL (D.N.M.) -- finding that: (1) plaintiff failed to administratively appeal withholdings from certain records concerning his former employer; (2) DOL properly withheld third-party information pursuant to Exemption 6; and (3) plaintiff was neither eligible nor entitled to attorney’s fees, despite agency’s five-year delay in adjudicating his administrative appeal.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Seife v. U.S. Dep't of State (S.D.N.Y.) - - ruling that: (1) State Department performed adequate search for “on background” press briefing transcripts produced by agency, but inadequately searched for joint press briefing transcripts produced by other agencies; and (2) agency’s reliance on Exemption 5 (deliberative process privilege) and Exemption 6 was proper in part and improper in part.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Wash. v. GSA (D.D.C.) -- determining that information about FBI’s headquarters building could not be withheld from agency’s “Findings and Determination” document pursuant to deliberative process privilege because the information was not pre-decisional.
Abakporo v. EOUSA (D.D.C.) -- ruling that government improperly relied on Exemption 3, in conjunction with Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, to withhold “dates on which the term of the grand jury that returned an indictment against [plaintiff] was extended, as well as any court orders relating to those extensions.”
Jackson v. EOUSA (D.D.C.) -- concluding that agency performed reasonable search for records pertaining to plaintiff’s criminal case and that it properly withheld third-party information pursuant to Exemption 6.
Gizmodo Media Grp. v. FBI (S.D.N.Y.) -- deciding that FBI conducted adequate search for records about Roger Ailes, founder of Fox News, by performing index search of its Central Records System.
Cochran v. DHS (D. Md.) -- finding that FEMA conducted reasonable search for certain records pertaining to security clearance of plaintiff, a former FEMA employee.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
McGehee v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- determining that FBI performed reasonable search for records concerning the Jonestown Massacre and that it properly withheld records pursuant to Exemptions 1 and 7(C).
New Orleans Workers’ Ctr. for Racial Justice v. ICE (D.D.C.) -- ruling that government failed to perform adequate search for records concerning agency’s “Criminal Alien Removal Initiative, ” and that it failed to provide sufficient information to allow the Court to evaluate the propriety of its withholdings under Exemptions 5, 6, 7(C), and 7(E).
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.