Court opinions issued May 22, 2019

Pub. Citizen. v. U.S. Dep't of Educ. (D.D.C.) -- concluding that agency properly relied on deliberative process and attorney-client privileges to withhold records pertaining to agency event, notably including the name of agency attorney from whom advice was sought.

Amadis v. DOJ (D.D.C. ) -- ruling that: (1) plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies with respect to responses issued by DEA and FBI, notwithstanding those agencies’ offers to perform additional searches; (2) DEA performed adequate search for records pertaining to agency’s processing of plaintiff’s earlier FOIA request; (3) FBI properly relied on Exemption 7(E) to withhold search slips and case notes pertaining to its processing of plaintiff’s earlier FOIA request; (4) DOJ’s Office of Information Policy reasonably interpreted scope of plaintiff’s request and properly relied on Exemptions 5 and 6 to withhold information from its appeal “blitz” forms; (5) Department of State performed adequate search for records pertaining to its processing of plaintiff’s earlier FOIA request.

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

FOIA News: Interior maintains Obama's "sensitive review" policy

Interior Department policy let political appointees review FOIA requests

So-called awareness review process could expose department to legal action

By Jacob Holzman, Roll Call, May 22, 2019

The Interior Department has for about a year allowed political appointees to weigh in on which federal records are released to the public, creating delays that could violate open records law and expose the department to legal action.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Committee proposes new FOIA regulations

The Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled has published amended FOIA regulations with a public comment deadline of June 10, 2019. The Committee last revised its FOIA regulations in 1998.

FOIA News: OMB and IMLS Update FOIA Regulations

Freedom of Information Act

A Rule by the Management and Budget Office on 05/21/2019

Link here.

Freedom of Information Act Regulations and Additional Incidental Technical Amendments to Other IMLS Regulations

A Rule by the Institute of Museum and Library Services on 05/21/2019

Link here.

FOIA News: DOJ releases name of former U.S. Attorney who committed misconduct

The Justice Department Spent Nearly Two Years Fighting To Hide The Identity Of A US Attorney Accused Of Misconduct

A federal judge ordered DOJ to release the now-former US attorney’s name after BuzzFeed News sued.

By Zoe Tillman, BuzzFeed News, May 20, 2019

The Justice Department’s inspector general announced in May 2017 that an unnamed US attorney, who had since retired, committed misconduct in office. He’d had an affair with a subordinate, according to the one-page release, created a hostile work environment, and potentially violated department sexual harassment rules.

Two years later — after BuzzFeed News went to court — a judge found that the public’s interest in bad behavior by top government officials outweighed their right to privacy and forced the Justice Department to release his name late last week: Stephen Wigginton, who served as a US attorney in Illinois from 2010 to 2015.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Job Posting for General Attorney (FOIA/PA)

General Attorney in the Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act Unit at The Department of Justice Office of Enforcement Operations

Deadline is May 31, 2019.

Read more here.

Court opinion issued May 17, 2019

Proctor v. NARA (N.D. Cal.) -- finding that: (1) agency properly relied on Exemption 3 in conjunction with Rule Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e) to withhold plaintiff's 1998 deposition transcript regarding Monica Lewinsky, except as to the identities of the prosecutors, the court reporter, and plaintiff; and (2) court did not have inherent authority to release remaining deposition transcript; that authority belonged to the Eastern District of Virginia, under whose supervision the transcript was produced.

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

Court opinions issued May 16, 2019

Humane Soc'y v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv. (E.D. Va.) -- concluding that: (1) agency released copies of all requested African elephant and lion trophy permits, which mooted plaintiff’s claim; and (2) FOIA’s reading room provision did not obligate government to publish permitting records created in the future on a continuous basis.

Willis v. FBI (D.D.C.) -- finding that FBI performed adequate search for records concerning plaintiff and that it properly withheld name of agency employee pursuant to Exemption 6.

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

FOIA News: DOJ's Civil Division complains about FOIA requests

Watchdogs Use FOIA as a ‘Weapon,’ Justice Department Complains

The memo acknowledges a salient fact: There are more people than ever taking it upon themselves to inform the general public about the activities of the U.S. government.

By Lachlan Markay, Daily Beast, May 16, 2019

The Department of Justice complained in early 2018 that nonprofit good-government groups were weaponizing federal open-records laws, according to a memo obtained, appropriately enough, through a Freedom of Information Act request.

“A host of government watchdog groups now essentially seek to use FOIA requests and related litigation as a weapon in the political and advocacy process,” reads the memo, authored by the DOJ’s civil division, which is charged with defending the government in FOIA lawsuits.

Read more here (subscription required)

FOIA News: DOJ updates two sections of FOIA Guide

The Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy has updated the first two sections of DOJ’s Guide to the Freedom of Information Act. The FOIA Guide was once reprinted annually or biannually, but it has been updated only sporadically online in recent years.