FOIA Advisor

Court opinion issued Sept. 28, 2023

Court Opinions (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

Cabezas v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons (D.D.C.) -- deciding that: (1) DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility failed to prove that it had responded to plaintiff’s request before plaintiff filed suit, and that OPR improperly issued a Glomar response under Exemptions 6 and 7(C) in connection with plaintiff’s request for misconduct records regarding certain law enforcement officers; (2) neither BOP nor plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment on question of whether agency received plaintiff’s request; and (3) EOUSA established that it conducted an adequate search for certain forfeiture records pertaining to plaintiff’s property.

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.

FOIA News: Washington Post Announces new FOIA Column

FOIA News (2015-2023)Kevin SchmidtComment

New FOIA Column “Reveals” All in The Washington Post

By WashPostPR, Washington Post, Oct. 5, 2023
The Washington Post today announces the first installment of “Revealing Records,” a new column anchored by Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Director Nate Jones. The first-of-its kind column from the investigations desk takes readers behind the scenes in unearthing public records, exposing the countless secrets hidden in government documents, and highlights how the records inform Post reporting.

“The Post’s award-winning investigations are strengthened by Nate’s critical work obtaining local, state and federal records to help our reporters tell better stories,” said Sarah Childress, deputy editor for long-term investigations. “We are thrilled to offer this entertaining and educational window into the work we do every day to scrutinize power and empower people.”

Read more here.

FOIA News: MuckRock Interview with DOJ OIP's Bobak ‘Bobby’ Talebian

FOIA News (2015-2023)Kevin SchmidtComment

Q&A with Justice Department Office of Information Policy’s Bobak ‘Bobby’ Talebian on the future of FOIA

By Albert Serna Jr., MuckRock, Oct. 4, 2023

With the closing of FOIAonline last week, FOIA.gov is now the central hub for FOIA requests and information about federal agencies. As the site sees more traffic and use, users might have questions about how to navigate through the site’s various features.

Bobak “Bobby” Talebian, director of the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy, spoke with MuckRock about FOIA.gov, how it works and what’s planned for its future. A new tool, dubbed a “FOIA Wizard,” is set for a beta release this fall and is aimed at helping users better see existing FOIA requests and craft new ones.

Read more here.

FOIA News: FOIA fun on Oct. 4th

FOIA News (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

Have a Little Fun with FOIA

By Electronic Frontier Found.

October 4, 2023 - 9:00am to 10:00am PDT

FOIA takes itself very seriously, but there are some really interesting public records finds that are a little off the beaten path and can be a fantastic engagement tool. For a few examples, peacoks run amok, the gender of the Secret Service hero dog, and other animal hijinks all make for great stories. Join EFF Investigative Researcher Beryl Lipton, Adrien Salzberg of MuckRock, and Ben Welsh of Reuters for a workshop on finding great FOIA stories, framing them so they resonate, and then following up to build awareness about public records and a stronger transparency community.

This event is part of the National Freedom of Information Coalition 2023 National FOI Summit, which runs from October 3rd to October 5th.

Original post here.

FOIA News: NRLB finds replacement for FOIAOnline

FOIA News (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

NLRB Transitions to SecureRelease for Processing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests

Office of Public Affairs, NLRB, Sept. 26, 2023

Starting October 1, 2023, members of the public can submit Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for Agency records using SecureRelease. SecureRelease replaces FOIAOnline, which will be decommissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on September 30, 2023. For more information on the decommissioning of FOIAOnline, please see this FAQ.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Artificial intelligence at the State Dep't

FOIA News (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

AI Update: State Department’s AI Programs, Google’s AI Push into Government

FedManager, Sept. 26, 2023

Agencies across the federal government are preparing strategies to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) technology. At the State Department, the agency is amid several different artificial intelligence projects.

One State Department pilot program uses AI to process Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. AI helps cut down on work by combining similar requests, eliminating duplicate work, and finding potentially responsive records. AI is also being used to identify classified and other FOIA-exempt materials in search results, although it is not used for redactions at this moment.

Read more here.

Court opinions issued Sept. 19, 2023

Court Opinions (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

Radar Online v. FBI (S.D.N.Y.) -- deciding that: (1) FBI was entitled to raise Exemption 7(A) as grounds for withholding Jeffrey Epstein-related records due to changed circumstances, but agency failed to show how disclosure of particular investigatory records would interfere with a retrial of Ghislaine Maxwell if she prevailed on appeal; (2) FBI properly relied on Exemption 3 to withhold identifying information concerning minor children, but it failed to meet its burden regarding grand jury materials and juvenile arrest and criminal history information; (3) FBI properly withheld various records pursuant to Exemptions 5, 6, and 7(C), and 7(E); and (4) FBI established that Exemption 7(D) protected information provided by local law enforcement information, but it did not meet its burden with respect to information provided by other sources.

Cable News Network v. CIA (D.D.C.) -- holding that CIA properly relied on Exemptions 1 and 3 in refusing to confirm or deny the existence of records pertaining to deceased musician James Brown.

Inst. for Energy Research v. FERC (D.D.C.) -- determining that: (1) agency performed adequate search for two Commissioners’ calendars; (2) agency’s explanations for its withholdings under Exemption 5’s deliberative process privilege were “insufficiently detailed”; and (3) agency properly withheld certain records pursuant to Exemption 6, but failed to justify its categorical withholding of the names of all “lower-level staff.”

Bakaj v. DHS (D.D.C.) -- ruling that DHS properly redacted the names of four CIA officials pursuant to Exemption 3 in conjunction with the Inspector General Act, National Security Act, and the CIA Act.

Wright v. FBI (D.D.C.) -- concluding that one of plaintiff’s requests was unreasonably described, the FBI conducted adequate searches with respect to four of five disputed items, and the FBI properly issued a Glomar response under Exemptions 1 and 3.

Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.