FOIA Advisor

Court opinions issued Fed. 24-25, 2016

Court Opinions (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

Feb. 25, 2016

Pair v. Soc. Sec. Admin. (D. Md.) -- dismissing plaintiff's suit seeking records concerning a nine-digit alphanumeric code on the back of his Social Security card, because the agency averred that no responsive records existed.   According to SSA, the number is merely a control number used by the vendor who provides the cards to SSA to prevent fraud and counterfeiting; it has no public use.    

Henderson v. Office of the Dir. of Nat'l Intelligence (D.D.C.) -- holding that ODNI and the Office of Personnel Management properly relied upon Exemption 7(E) to redact certain information from their jointly issued "Federal Investigative Standards," which sets forth the standards for security and suitability background investigations of federal employees.

Feb. 24, 2016

Muchnick v. Dep't of Homeland Sec. (N.D. Cal.) -- finding that agency's Vaughn Index and declaration were not descriptive enough to justify withholding records concerning George Gibney, a former Olympic swim coach charged with sexual abuse.  

 Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.