Court opinions issued July 24, 2019

Shapiro v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- following remand from D.C. Circuit, concluding that FBI properly redacted two-page document pursuant to Exemption 7(E).

King & Spalding v. HHS (D.D.C.) -- ruling that: (1) on reconsideration of earlier decision, Exemptions 6 and 7(C) did not protect names of lawyer(s) who represented confidential source because they had “little or no privacy interest in their ‘representational capacity’ as counsel;” and (2) name of law firm that represented confidential source likewise was not exempt from disclosure.

Satterlee v. Comm’r of IRS (W.D. Mo.) -- determining that Bureau of the Fiscal Service performed reasonable search for records concerning plaintiff and did not withhold any responsive documents.

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

FOIA News: Interior's FOIA program under scrutiny by IG

IG launches review of FOIA program

By Michael Doyle, E&E News, July 24, 2019

The Interior Department's Office of Inspector General has begun examining the department's Freedom of Information Act "awareness program," which critics have called a way for political appointees to meddle with FOIA requests.

Read more here (access with free trial subscription).

FOIA News: Senators seek to reverse SCOTUS decision & EPA policy

Bipartisan senators introduce bill to challenge new EPA policy and Supreme Court ruling on FOIA

By Miranda Green, The Hill, July 23, 2019

Senators from both sides of the aisle are backing a bill to strengthen the public’s ability to obtain government records, seeking to counteract recent changes that make it easier for the Trump administration to withhold information.

The new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) bill introduced Tuesday directly challenges both an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) policy implemented earlier this year and a June Supreme Court ruling.

Read more here.

Court opinion issued July 22, 2019

N.Y. Times Co. v. DOJ (S.D.N.Y.) -- finding that DOJ properly relied on Exemption 7(A) to withhold certain records pertaining to Paul Manafort, Richard W. Gates, and Michael Flynn even though the existence of some investigations regarding those individuals are publicly known.

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

FOIA News: Media requests to EPA spike under Trump

EXCLUSIVE: Media Requests for EPA Records Soar Under Trump

By Kevin Mooney, Daily Signal, July 22, 2019

Major news outlets, seemingly more prone to investigative reporting in the Trump era, are much more aggressive in seeking records from the Environmental Protection Agency than they were in the final years of the Obama administration, The Daily Signal has learned.

ABC News, CBS News, the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Politico are among 20 news organizations showing a large increase in Freedom of Information Act requests, according to EPA numbers obtained by The Daily Signal. 

Read more here.

[ALB comment: We’ve seen this story before, per Washington Free Beacon.]

FOIA News: Senators ask EPA to reconsider FOIA regs

Senators Leahy, Grassley, Feinstein, And Cornyn Raise Concerns About EPA’s FOIA Rule

…Senators Ask EPA To Reconsider FOIA Rule Or Provide Sufficient Opportunity For Public Comment And Transition Period

Press Release, Office of U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy

(MONDAY, July 22, 2019) — Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas) – all senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee with exclusive jurisdiction over the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) – sent a bipartisan letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler raising serious concerns with the EPA’s recent “FOIA Regulations Update” final rule, asking him to reconsider the rule or provide sufficient opportunity for the American public to comment on it and additional transition time to ensure public awareness.

Read more here.

FOIA News: More on SCOTUS Ex. 4 decision

U.S. Supreme Court Broadens FOIA Exemption 4 for ‘Confidential’ Materials

By Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Nat’l L. Rev. July 22, 2019

On June 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media expanded the Freedom of Information Act’s (FOIA) Exemption 4, excluding from disclosure pursuant to a FOIA request material containing “trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential.” 5 U.S.C. §552(b)(4).

Read more here.

Court opinion issued July 19, 2019

Brooks v. Trump (D. Nev.) -- ruling that pro se prisoner improperly named President Trump as defendant in case in which Department of Justice allegedly failed to respond to plaintiff’s FOIA request.

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

Court opinions issued July 18, 2019

Charnock v. Barr (D.D.C.) -- determining that DOJ’s Civil Rights Division performed adequate search for records concerning plaintiff’s disability complaint against the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Silbaugh v. Acosta (W.D. Wash.) -- ruling that plaintiff’s discovery request concerning Department of Labor’s search was premature because agency had yet not filed affidavits or declarations.

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

Court opinion issued July 17, 2019

Cause of Action Inst. v. IRS (D.D.C.) -- holding that court had subject-matter jurisdiction to consider whether records exchanged between IRS and U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation were agency records.

[Note: FOIA Advisor’s Ryan Mulvey is working on this case]

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