De Sousa v. CIA (D.D.C.) -- finding that: (1) CIA properly refused to confirm or deny existence of various records concerning kidnapping of Abu Omar pursuant to Exemption 1; (2) State Department properly issued a partial Glomar response in order to protect classified information; (3) Department of Defense needed to supplement record as to whether it expressly adopted a draft letter as final agency policy.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2017-65
Washington D.C., March 13, 2017—The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that its Office of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Services was recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice for “exceptional service” by FOIA professionals.
The award to a team of 28 professionals recognized their work in handling a growing volume of FOIA requests while reducing the office’s backlog. Between fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2016, FOIA requests to the SEC rose by 38 percent while the number of completed requests in that period increased by 40 percent.
Read SEC's full press release here.
By Ari Goldberg, Project on Government Oversight, Mar. 10, 2017
It may still be cold in much of the US, but next week the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) will be marking Sunshine Week with a series of hot events aiming a spotlight on open government. For the 12th year in a row, journalists, advocates, and citizens will hold workshops, discussions, and nationwide events celebrating access to public information.
POGO is taking part in no fewer than four events next week, along with a 7-day social media surge promoting open government under the hashtag #SunshineWeek. If you’re not in the nation’s capital, you can participate in some of these discussions online. You can also check this calendar to find an event in your area.
Read more here.
On March 15, 2017, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing entitled "Legislative Proposals for Fostering Transparency." Witnesses to be announced.
Note: As of 8pm, the hearing no longer appears on the Committee's calendar.
To avoid "confusion" the CIA withheld info from Senate hearing on limiting FOIA
JPat Brown, MuckRock, Mar. 13, 2017
In early December 1981, the CIA was preparing to go before a Senate Judiciary Committee with the goal of adding additional restrictions to FOIA, which the agency felt had already had a negative impact on its work.
Read more here.
Gahagan v. U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Servs. (E.D. La.) -- stating that "[t]he Court will not reconsider its prior ruling based on any clarity finally achieved [by USCIS] only after a Court-ordered search and submission that was prompted by the agency's own inadequate presentation. USCIS cannot retroactively satisfy its burden to show an adequate search had been conducted after haphazardly filing incomplete or inaccurate affidavits, confusing the bar, the Court, and the public it is intended to serve."
Wu v. Nat'l Geospatial Intelligence Agency (D. Conn.) -- holding that agency performed a reasonable search for satellite images at or near plaintiff's residence.
Ahuruonye v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior (D.D.C.) -- finding that U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service conducted an adequate search for personnel records concerning plaintiff.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Codrea v. ATF (D.D.C.) -- concluding that Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives properly relied upon Exemption 7(E) to withhold certain "instructions, policies or guidance given to agents who serve as hearing officers, or to their superiors, in connection with determining whether an [firearm] license should be revoked or suspended, or issuance of a license be denied, or a civil fine imposed."
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
Edelman v. Sec. & Exch. Comm'n (D.D.C) -- determining that the SEC performed a reasonable search for consumer complaints regarding a real estate trust and that it properly withheld certain information pursuant to the deliberative process privilege. Further, the court rejected the agency's categorical withholding of all names of consumer complainants under Exemption 6 and ordering the parties to meet and confer on the issue.
Shapiro v. U.S. Dep't of Justice (D.D.C.) -- ruling that: (1) FBI properly invoked Exemption 7(E) to withhold search slips generated in response to certain FOIA requests seeking records concerning domestic terrorism investigations; (2) parties must meet and confer concerning FBI's "sensitive case file numbers or sub-files," which court found meets the threshold test of Exemption 7(E); (3) FBI properly withheld certain investigatory records pertaining to murder of Hyram Kitchen pursuant to Exemptions 1 and 5, but that neither party was entitled to summary judgment with respect to Exemption 3; and (4) FBI was required to submit sample, redacted documents to permit court to evaluate issue of segregability.
Johnson v. United States (D.D.C.) -- dismissing action against EEOC because it released all records requested by plaintiff, and dismissing action against Office of Personnel management because plaintiff failed to submit a request before filing lawsuit.
Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.
By Joe Veix, Newsweek, Mar. 10, 2017
An exciting but underappreciated genre of writing is the Great American FBI File. Think of government agents as taxpayer-funded paparazzi, invading the lives of private citizens for the supposed good of the country. There are files on many popular figures, including John Lennon, Lucille Ball and Biggie Smalls. Writer William T. Vollman famously found his own file and dug through it for a great long Harper’s essay. Say what you will about the FBI, but it has decent taste in artists.
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Considering this, artist and activist Parker Higgins figured out a way to automate the process of releasing records. No, not by murdering people; that would be terrible and time-consuming. He created a program that monitors the New York Times obituary section. Anytime a new article appears, it automatically files a FOIA request for that recently deceased person. He calls it FOIA the Dead.
Read more here.
By Michael Linhorst, Lawfare, Mar. 9, 2017
Documents the FBI creates when it processes a FOIA request can be withheld from future FOIA requests in certain sensitive cases, D.C. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled on Monday.
At issue are “search slips” and “processing notes”—internal documents the FBI creates when it responds to FOIA requests. The court determined that those records may be withheld under FOIA’s Exemption 7(E) on a case-by-case basis when their release could allow a savvy FOIA user to create a “mosaic” that reveals information properly protected under the law.
This was the fourth opinion the court has issued in long-running litigation between the FBI and four FOIA requesters: Ryan Shapiro, Newsweek journalist Jeff Stein, the nonprofit National Security Counselors (NSC) and the news organization Truthout. The case, Shapiro v. Department of Justice, involves 58 FOIA requests filed by Ryan Shapiro, an MIT doctoral student, seeking information from FBI investigations into domestic terrorism activities by animal-rights extremists. The FBI gave him 42 “no records” responses, meaning that it told him no records existed that were responsive to his requests. Such responses are allowed in two circumstances: when there really are no records, or when the requested records fall into a narrow exemption in § 552(c) involving documents that could interfere with certain criminal law enforcement proceedings.
Read more here.