Q. What is the process for using FOIA to obtain my complete personal bank account information and/or any other actions regarding said account from a banking institution of the Nation Association (NA)?
A. You have a contractual right to your account information; you need not submit a FOIA request. Indeed, "national" banks are not subject to FOIA requests.
Q. Does the FOIA apply to only government documents? What if I am trying to get court records of a settlement unsealed -- what are the criteria for unsealing those records? Can I force a private entity to produce documents if those documents pertain to public safety? For example, if there has been testing by a private entity pertaining to water and soil safety of an area, must those records be produced under the FOIA if a request is made to that entity to produce those documents?
A. The federal Freedom of Information Act applies to executive branch agencies, not courts, Congress, or private entities or individuals. The scope of State public records laws vary, but most also do not apply to court records or to private entities. You might be able to access sealed court records by making an informal request to the judge, as discussed in this article by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. More extensive guidance on sealed court records is available from the Federal Judicial Center.
Q. How specific does a request have to be? We received a request asking for all documents containing information regarding our "electronic message center."
A. A federal FOIA request must reasonably describe the records sought, which means that agency staff has the ability to reasonably ascertain exactly which records are being requested and to locate them. Several courts have held that requests for "all documents" that "pertain to" or "relate to" a broad subject are not reasonably described. For additional guidance on this subject, see DOJ Guide to the Freedom of Information Act, Proper FOIA Requests.
Q. Can I file a FOIA request to obtain copies of the tests and the answers from the Chicago Police Department Lieutenants Exam? The test was administered and results posted.
A. Those documents are likely exempt from disclosure under section 7(1)(q) of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, which protects "[t]est questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to determine the qualifications of an applicant for a license or employment." Should you nonetheless wish to submit a request, here is the FOIA contact information for the Chicago Police Department.
Q. Is a HUD grantee required to give a private citizen an electronic copy of a HUD document?
A. Highly unlikely. In 1980, the Supreme Court decided in Forsham v. Harris that recipients of federal grants are not agencies subject to the FOIA, unless the grantee is subject to "extensive, detailed, and virtually day-to-day supervision" by the federal grantor.
Q. I want to submit one or more FOIA requests to state (Virginia) and federal agencies to determine how many Syrian refugees have been relocated to my state, where they are located, what security vetting has been done, and how the relocation process works. What agencies in Virginia and at the federal level should I submit such a request to and would this information be obtainable under FOIA?
A. The federal agencies that are most involved in the refugee resettlement process are the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security's Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Administration for Children and Families. FOIA contact information for each of these agencies is available here. Before filing requests, you might wish to peruse those agencies' websites (hyperlinked above) to see what information is already publicly available. For example, HHS publishes the number of refugees resettled annually in each state by country of origin. Several U.S. intelligence agencies are involved in security vetting, but you are not likely to gain access to security files via FOIA. Nor in my opinion are you likely to obtain the home addresses of any refugee from any agency (federal or state).
With respect to Virginia, you might consider directing requests to the Governor's Office and/or to the Secretariat of Public Safety and Homeland Security.
Q. Can a person registered with FINRA (i.e., a registered representative) successfully submit a FOIA request to FINRA to get his former employer's correspondence with FINRA concerning his alleged wrongdoing committed while he was an employer of such employer?
A. FINRA is a non-profit organization, not a government agency, and therefore it is not subject to FOIA. FINRA might have its own disclosure policies/procedures, but I am not aware of them.
Q. I was in anti-Vietnam War marches in 1968 thru 1971 that turned violent. I want to know what information the government has on me concerning political violence. Where should I send a request?
A. You might consider submitting a Privacy Act request to the FBI. Here are the relevant instructions from the FBI's web site:
If you are requesting information about yourself, you must use one of the following options:
Option 1: Use the U.S. Department of Justice Certification of Identity Form DOJ-361. You may submit an attachment listing additional information that may aid in locating responsive records. Please place your name and contact information on the attachment.
Option 2: Following the instructions in U.S. Department of Justice Certification of Identity Form DOJ-361, submit a letter to the FBI, sign your request, and have it notarized or state, “Under penalty of perjury, I hereby declare that I am the person named above and I understand that any falsification of this statement is punishable under the provisions of Title 18, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 1001 by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment of not more than five years, or both; and that requesting or obtaining any record(s) under false pretenses is punishable under the provisions of Title 5, U. S. C., Section 552a(i)(3) as a misdemeanor and by a fine of not more than $5,000.” If you have any questions about this process before submitting your FOIPA request, please e-mail foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov.
Mail, fax, or e-mail this letter to the following:
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Attn: FOI/PA Request
Record/Information Dissemination Section
170 Marcel Drive
Winchester, VA 22602-4843
Fax: (540) 868-4391/4997
E-mail (scanned copy): foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov
Q. How can I obtain records concerning a California Superior Court's internal investigation of its employees?
A. The California Public Records Act does not apply to the judicial branch. As of 2010, however, rule 10.500 of the California Rules of Court established comprehensive public access provisions for judicial administrative records maintained by state trial and appellate courts, and the Judicial Council of California.
Q. Are meeting records of a city-owned utility in Arkansas subject to state's FOIA law?
A. Yes. See Opinion No. 2000-129 of the Arkansas Attorney General. Please note, however, that only residents of the State of Arkansas may make FOIA requests to state and local agencies.