Rocky Mountain Wild v. BLM (D. Colo.) -- on renewed summary judgment, finding that agency performed reasonable search for records pertaining to certain property that it had considered for oil and gas leasing in 2018.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund v. ATF (2nd Cir.) -- reversing district court’s decision and holding that data requested from agency’s Firearms Trace System was protected from disclosure pursuant to a congressional rider even though that rider did not specifically cite Exemption 3 per the OPEN FOIA Act.
Berryhill v. Bonneville Power Admin. (D. Or.) -- determining that agency performed adequate search for records concerning plaintiff’s property and that it properly redacted records pursuant to Exemption 5’s deliberative process and attorney-client privileges.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
DHS/Headquarters, Deputy Chief FOIA Officer (ES-00), D.C., closes 12/28/2020
CFTC, Attorney Advisor (CT 12-13), D.C., closes 12/28/2020
HHS/FDA, Gov’t Info. Specialist (GS 12-13), Maryland, closes 12/30/2020
HHS/HRSA, Supervisory Gov’t Info. Specialist (GS 15), Maryland, closes 12/31/2020
MSPB, Gov’t Info. Specialist (GS 9-11), D.C., closes 1/4/2021
Dep’t of the Interior/Solicitor, Supervisory Gov’t Info. Specialist (GS 15), D.C., closes 1/13/2021
Dep’t of the Interior/NPS, Gov’t Info. Specialist (GS 12), Pennsylvania, closes 1/13/2021
Gun Use in US Suicides Kept Secret With 2nd Circuit Ruling
By Nina Pullano, Courthouse News Serv., Dec. 23, 2020
The U.S. government need not release statistics on guns used in suicides or attempted suicides, the Second Circuit ruled Wednesday, reversing what had been a victory for gun-regulation advocates.
Seeking such information as part of a push to curb gun violence in America, the group Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund demanded that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives produce relevant records under the Freedom of Information Act.
Demurring, however, the ATF argued that Congress had specifically blocked access to the Firearms Trace System database. The move centered on a series of amendments to the Consolidated Appropriations Acts of 2005, known as the Tiahrt Riders, first adopted in the early 2000s and updated in 2012.
Read more here.
Rich v. USCIS (W.D. Wash.) -- denying plaintiff’s request for award of attorney fees because plaintiff failed to demonstrate that her lawsuit caused agency to release requested documents.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Mark Schlefer, who helped write FOIA legislation, dies at 98
By Louie Estrada, Wash. Post, Dec. 21, 2020
From a young age, maritime and shipping lawyer Mark P. Schlefer liked to challenge authority.
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His willingness to ask questions of people in power carried over to his professional life and led to his role in the development of the Freedom of Information Act, the landmark legislation providing citizens with a tool to keep the government open and honest.
Mr. Schlefer, a former Washington resident, died Nov. 2 at his home in Putney, Vt. The cause was cardiorespiratory arrest, said a daughter, Katharine Schlefer Dodge. He was 98.
Read more here.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and MuckRock are accepting nominations for the seventh annual “Foilies,” which recognizes government agencies for their anti-transparent responses to public records requests. The deadline to submit nominations is January 8, 2020. See details here.
Nightingale. v. USCIS (N.D. Cal.) -- finding that USCIS, ICE, and DHS “have a pattern of unreasonable delay in responses to A-FIle FOIA requests,” and permanently enjoining defendants from failing to adhere to statutory deadlines for adjudicating A-File FOIA requests; further ordering defendants to make determinations on all A-File FOIA requests in backlog within 60 days.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
The White House Office of Management and Budget published the final revisions to its government-wide FOIA fee guidlines in today’s issue of the Federal Register. The agency incorporated several changes proposed during the public comment period. The new guidelines are effective immediately.
S. Envtl. Law Ctr. v. CEQ (W.D. Va.) -- following in camera review, ruling that agency failed to meet statute’s “foreseeable harm” requirement, which agency asserted was a "foreseeable harm of chilling speech and stifling frank and open discussions" and a general "risk of public confusion."
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.