Dear Valued Readers:
FOIA Advisor was launched in 2015 as a non-commercial forum designed to help the public learn more about the law and to aid FOIA practitioners. We’re excited to announce that we’ll be transitioning to a subscription site by September 30, 2024, a move aimed at enhancing your experience and the quality of content we deliver. Stay tuned for further details.
Thank you for your continued support.
FOIA.gov Search Tool Adds Law Enforcement User Journey
DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, July 18, 2024
FOIA.gov, the government’s central resource for information about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) now includes additional functionality to help users locate commonly requested law enforcement and related records. The FOIA.gov Search Tool was updated to add a “Law Enforcement records” pre-defined user journey that helps the public more quickly locate commonly requested information. This user journey supplements the existing journeys that help users identify agencies with some of the most common types of requested records, including Immigration/Travel records, Tax records, Social Security records, Medical records, Personnel records, and Military records. The new Law Enforcement records user journey not only helps requesters identify the multitude of federal law enforcement agencies subject to the FOIA, but also provides useful guidance for those seeking state and local records.
Read more here.
Kowal v. DOJ (D.C. Cir) -- affirming district court’s 2022 decisions—following multiple rounds of summary judgment—that: (1) the FBI, DEA, and ATF justified the adequacy of their searches for records concerning plaintiff’s client, Daniel Troya, who was sentenced to death for murder in 2009; and (2)(a) defendant agencies properly withheld third-party information pursuant to Exemption 7(C); (b) FBI properly relied on Exemption 3 in conjunction with 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510–12, to withhold a narrative summary of a wiretap conversation; (c) FBI and DEA properly withheld source information pursuant to Exemption 7(D), noting that “grisly nature” of the crime “easily” supported inference of confidentiality for each source.
Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2024 are available here. Earlier opinions are available here.
The FBI’s latest updates to its document library (the “Vault”) include files on Henry Hill (from “Goodfellas” movie fame) and the Girl Scouts.
Does Dr. Ruth, who died on July 12, 2024, have an FBI file? A curious requester wants to know.
DOJ’s National Security Division announced a vacancy for an attorney to primarily handle FOIA matters.
The U.S. Secret Service has posted information about 2024 candidate protection.
The Michigan Law Review posted an essay about recent Exemption 4 case law.
The U.S. Postal Service likens the FOIA to the tango in an agency news clip.
Federal positions closing in the next 10 days
FOIA Assistant, Dep’t of Homeland Sec./CBP, GS 5-6, Wash., DC., closes 7/17/24.
Sup. Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of State, GS 14, Wash., D.C., closes 7/18/24 (non-public).
Att’y Advisor, Dep’t of Justice/OIP, GS 12-15, Wash., D.C., closes 7/21/24.
Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Army, Nat’l Guard, GS 9, Frankfort, KY, closes 7/22/24 (non-public).
Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Def./DCSA, GG 9, Boyers, PA, closes 7/22/24.
Att’y Advisor, Dep’t of Justice/EOIR, GS 13-14, Falls Church, VA, closes 7/24/24 (non-public).
Franklin v. Wormuth (D. Md.) -- determining that: (1) Department of the Army established that it performed adequate search for three of four categories of records pertaining to agency’s response to plaintiff’s EEO complaint, but denying summary judgment for one category because agency’s search description was “remarkably thin”; and (2) Army properly relied on Exemptions 6 and 7(C) to redact identifying information about third parties from Army police report.
Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2024 are available here. Earlier opinions are available here.
On June 27, 2024, the Congressional Research Service issued an updated version of The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): A Legal Overview. The sixth version of CRS’s overview is 61 pages long with 513 footnotes.
404 Media will be hosting its fourth FOIA Forum for paid subscribers on July 31, 2024, at 1pm EDT. The main guest speaker will be Seamus Hughes, who runs Court Watch. See more details here.
Lovelace v. DOJ (D. Utah) -- recommending that court dismiss pro se plaintiff’s claim concerning FBI’s 2016 FOIA response, because plaintiff failed to file an administrative appeal with DOJ’s Office of Information Policy.
Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2024 are available here. Earlier opinions are available here.
Register Now for an Upcoming FOIA Best Practices Workshop on Backlog Reduction Plans
DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, July 9, 2024
Join the Office of Information Policy (OIP) at its next Best Practices Workshop on creating and implementing backlog reduction plans. Developing effective backlog reduction plans is critical to managing ever-increasing volumes of requests. The workshop will feature panelists from agencies with varied FOIA workloads discussing their own backlog reduction efforts.
The workshop will take place virtually over WebEx on July 31, 2024 from 10 AM – 12 PM EDT. A summary of the best practices discussed will be posted on OIP’s Best Practices page.
This event is open to all agency FOIA professionals. Federal employees may register here.
For questions or more information, please contact OIP at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov.