Amin v. Trump (D.D.C.) -- dismissing plaintiff's claims against multiple components of the Department of Justice because plaintiff, a pro se prisoner seeking his criminal records, failed to show that DOJ received any of his requests.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Von Chase v. BIA (D.D.C.) -- finding that: (1) Bureau of Indian Affairs conducted adequate search for records concerning plaintiff and properly redacted third-party information pursuant to Exemptions 6 and 7(C), issues that plaintiff conceded; (2) agency’s post-litigation release of records did not necessarily entitle plaintiff to litigation costs, because agency explained that end of post-conviction proceedings triggered release of records; (3) even if plaintiff were eligible for costs, he was not entitled to them because records conferred no benefit to the public and agency’s actions were reasonable.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Lotero-Diaz v. USCIS (S.D. Fla.) -- ruling that: (1) plaintiff’s FOIA claim was moot because agency produced all responsive records, albeit after the litigation commenced, and (2) plaintiff was not entitled to relief under Administrative Procedure Act claim because FOIA provided adequate remedy.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Freeman v. Fine (11th Cir.) (unpublished) -- summarily affirming district court’s decision that: (1) plaintiff’s FOIA claim was moot because Defense Department produced requested documents, and (2) FOIA did not provide plaintiff or court with authority to demand that agency investigate his whistleblower complaint.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Tremaine v. U.S. Customs & Border Prot. (W.D. Wash.) -- concluding that agency failed to perform reasonable search for records about agency’s policies or practices of finding aliens inadmissible for entry to the United States based on their involvement in foreign cannabis businesses.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Lawmakers want VA to address backlog of FOIA requests from vets, advocates
By Nikki Wentling, Stars & Stripes, June 15, 2020
Two veterans in Congress introduced legislation Monday that would force the Department of Veterans Affairs to respond to a backlog of requests made through the Freedom of Information Act, many from veterans themselves and advocacy groups.
Reps. Gil Cisneros, D-Calif., and Max Rose, D-N.Y., accused the department of lacking transparency. They said technology issues at the VA have prevented the agency from responding to hundreds of FOIA requests for information. The bill would require the VA to fix the IT issues and reduce its backlog of FOIA requests by 75% within three years.
Read more here.
Risenhoover v. U.S. Dep’t of State (D.D.C.) -- ruling that State Department performed adequate search for a directive issued to de facto Embassy of the United States in Taiwan and properly withheld cables pursuant to Exemption 1.
Sai v. TSA (D.D.C.) -- issuing technical amendments to its May 29, 2020 memorandum opinion and order
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Am. Small Business League v. DOD (N.D. Cal) -- following in camera review, concluding that: (1) agency’s Exemption 4 redactions from government’s compliance reports remained overbroad, specifically “most of the government’s analysis”; and (2) agency was improperly relying on Exemption 5’s common-interest doctrine to withhold communications predating its joint-defense agreement with Sikorsky Aircraft.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Shapiro v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- denying government’s motion for summary judgment because affidavits failed to: (1) identify information withheld from each document with reasonable specificity; (2) provide reasonably detailed justification for exemptions invoked; (3) connect claimed justification with specific information withheld; and (4) discuss consequences of disclosing requested information for each withholding.
Grey v. Cuccinelli (D.S.C.) -- finding that DHS failed to show that it performed adequate search for emails pertaining to plaintiff’s immigration matter and failed to explain why redacted information fell within ambit of Exemption 7(E).
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Mnuchin Says Names of Small-Business Borrowers Won’t Be Released
By Mark Niquette & Zachary R. Middler, Bloomberg, June 11, 2020
The Trump administration doesn’t plan to release details about companies that received billions of dollars through a high-profile federal coronavirus-relief initiative, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said this week -- reversing earlier guidance.
The Trump administration believes names of borrowers from the Paycheck Protection Program and the amounts they receive are “proprietary,” and “confidential” in many cases, Mnuchin said Wednesday during a Senate committee hearing.
Read more here.