On Thursday, October 20, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear oral argument in Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Wash. v. DOJ, a case in which the requester-appellant disputes the government’s withholding of the identities of suppliers of lethal injection drugs under Exemption 4. A livestream and a recording will be available through the court’s website here.
The underlying decision of the district court is here.
CREW’s opening brief is here.
The Chief FOIA Officers (CFO) Council will meet remotely on Thursday, November 2, 2022, from 10 AM to 12:30 PM, to provide updates from the Department of Justice, the National Archives, and Council Committees. Members of the public may attend the meeting. See attendance details here.
Air Force Casts Doubt on Politico’s Claim that GOP Candidate’s Sexual Assault Was Public Info
By Isaac School, Nat’l Rev., Oct. 13, 2022
The Air Force has denied that Politico‘s outing of a Republican congressional candidate’s status as a sexual-assault survivor could have been based on documents released as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, despite the publication’s claims otherwise.
Politico’s Adam Wren reported last week that Indiana congressional candidate and Air Force veteran Jennifer-Ruth Green suffered a sexual assault while serving in Iraq, despite Green’s pleas that he refrain from disclosing the details. Wren claimed that the lengthy profile of Green was based on documents obtained through a FOIA request and provided to Politico by a third party.
Read more here.
Understanding the Office of Government Information Services (part 1/4)
By Kimberlee N Ried, The FOIA Ombudsman, Oct. 12, 2022
As we at the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) celebrate our 13th birthday, Ombuds Day, and Mediation Week, we want to provide a refresher and overview of our services and explain a bit more about what we do as a part of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Below is some historical information about OGIS along with answers to common questions about how we do our work.
Read more here.
In case you missed it, Politico reported last Friday that Jennifer-Ruth Green, a candidate for the U.S. House in Indiana, had received a poor performance review from the Air Force in 2009, and that she had been a victim of sexual assault. Notably, Politico further reported that it had obtained this information through a third party’s FOIA request to the Air Force. Ms. Green has called foul, asserting that the disclosure was illegal. She appears to have a good case. Absent overriding public interest, performance appraisals of federal officials are routinely withheld on privacy grounds pursuant to Exemption 6. See, e.g., Judicial Watch v. U.S. Dep’t of Commerce, 337 F. Supp. 2d 146, 176-177 (D.D.C. 2004); 5 C.F.R. 293.311(a)(6) (OPM regulation excluding performance appraisals from list of personnel information available to public). The Department of Defense’s privacy policies with respect to its service members have traditionally followed or been more stringent than those of the Office of Personnel Management, particularly after September 11, 2001.
On Tuesday, October 11, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear oral argument in Watkins Law & Advocacy, PLLC v. DOJ, which concerns records about veterans who are prohibited from owning firearms.
A livestream and recording will be available on the court’s website here.
A copy of the district court’s relevant decision is here.
DOJ Wants Drug-Related FOIA Practices Suit Thrown Out
By Mike Curley, Law360, Oct. 6, 2022
Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Drug Enforcement Agency are asking a Texas federal court to throw out claims that the DEA has a practice of stonewalling Freedom of Information Act requests, saying the complaint doesn't show that the DEA's response to requests about psilocybin were improper. . . .
Read more here (accessible with free trial subscription).
See article about lawsuit here.
The Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy has a vacancy for an attorney-advisor at the GS-12 level to join its administrative appeals staff. The application deadline is October 21, 2022 . See more details here.
Announcing Upcoming FOIA Reporting Deadlines
Dep’t of Justice, Office of Info. Policy, Sept. 28, 2022
As the fiscal year draws to a close, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) looks to the beginning of the FOIA reporting season. Today, OIP announces the deadlines for the submission of agencies' Fiscal Year 2022 Annual FOIA Reports, Fiscal Year 2023 Quarterly FOIA Reports, and 2023 Chief FOIA Officer Reports, along with updated resources.
Read more here.
Key FOIA Resources: 2022 Updates to Exemption 3 Statutes
Dep’t of Justice, Office of Info. Policy, Sept. 27, 2022
The Office of Information Policy (OIP) has posted updates to its compilation of Exemption 3 resources, aimed at assisting agencies in their administration of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and increasing public understanding of the use of Exemption 3. These materials are located on the FOIA Resources page of OIP's site.
The first resource is an updated list of Statutes Found to Qualify Under Exemption 3 of the FOIA. This resource contains the most current listing of federal statutes that federal courts have affirmatively found to qualify as Exemption 3 statutes. The second resource is the Fiscal Year 2021 list of Statutes used in Annual FOIA Reports in conjunction with Exemption 3 of the FOIA. This resource includes a listing of the statutes used by all federal agencies subject to the FOIA, as reported in their FY 2021 Annual FOIA Reports. CSV and PDF versions of this resource provide the citation of each statute used, the type of information protected by the statute, the agencies that cited each statute, and the number of times the statute was cited during the preceding fiscal year. Charts dating back to FY 2010 are also available on OIP's FOIA Resources page.
Read more here.