FOIA News: FOIAonline is offline

The federal government’s FOIA portal FOIAonline is offline for scheduled maintenance until Monday, November 15, 2021.

Court opinions issued Nov. 8, 2021

Reporters Comm. for Freedom of Press v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- ruling that: (1) EOUSA, FBI, and the Criminal Division failed to perform adequate searches for records pertaining to Bryan Carmody; and (2) FBI properly relied on Exemption 7(C) to withhold name of one agent who questioned Mr. Carmody, but that name of second agency was in the public domain and could not be withheld.

Mitchell v. U.S. Dep't of Veterans Affairs (S.D.N.Y.) -- finding that agency performed adequate search for records concerning insurance benefits of plaintiff’s grandfather and that it properly withheld certain records pursuant to Exemption 6.

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

FOIA News: Chief FOIA Officers Council to meet Nov. 17th

The Chief FOIA Officers Council will meet virtually on November 17, 2021, from 10 am to 12:30pm. Registration information is available here.

Court opinions issued Nov. 5, 2021

Donato v. EOUSA (D.D.C.) -- denying plaintiff’s motion to reconsider court’s decision that FBI properly relied on Exemption 7(C) in confirming to confirm or deny existence of records about investigation of third party.

Parker v. U.S. Probation Office (S.D. Cal.) -- dismissing complaint against U.S. Probation Office and federal probation officers because all are arms of the federal court and therefore not agencies subject to FOIA.

Homes-Hamilton v. FBI (D. Md.) -- ordering claims to be transferred to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia because one of three plaintiffs did not reside or have principal place of business in Maryland and judicial efficiency warranted all claims remaining together.

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

FOIA News: Senators propose to extend FOIA to private prisons

CARDIN, LEAHY, RASKIN INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY FOR PRISONERS AND DETAINEES IN PRIVATE FACILITIES

Press Release, Office of U.S Senator Jamie Raskin, Nov. 4, 2021

U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) today introduced legislation to require that government agencies comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests relating to private prisons, jails or detention facilities, including immigration detention facilities. The Private Prison Information Act (S. 3164/H.R. 5853) is essential for holding detention facilities accountable.

See more here.

FOIA News: CRS releases report on FY 2020 FOIA stats

Pandemic Increased Backlog of FOIA Cases, Report Says

By FEDweek, Nov. 1, 2021

The pandemic contributed to an increase in the backlog of Freedom of Information Act requests pending in federal agencies, the Congressional Research Service has said.

The backlog of requests that have not received an initial agency response within the law’s timeframes rose from about 120,000 to about 142,000 from fiscal 2019 to 2020, while the pending backlog of appeals of denials remained about flat at about 5,100.

Read more here.

Court opinion issued Oct. 28, 2021

Oram v. Wilkie (W.D. Wash.) -- ruling that the Department of Veterans Affairs performed adequate search for records concerning plaintiff and properly withheld third-party information pursuant to Exemption 6, and that plaintiff failed to establish elements of a pattern-or-practice claim.

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

Court opinion issued Oct. 27, 2021

Elgabrowny v. CIA (D.D.C.) -- dismissing claims against the State Department and CIA because pro se plaintiff failed to prosecute case after he was released from federal prison.

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

FOIA News: SCOTUS asked to reverse consultant corollary doctrine

High Court FOIA Bout Could Expose IRS Contractor Work

By Amy Lee Rosen, Law360, Oct. 27, 2021

The IRS' ability to shield work by outside contractors from disclosure could be undermined if the U.S. Supreme Court reviews a would-be air traffic controller's Freedom of Information Act case against the Federal Aviation Administration and rules against the government.

In a divided en banc decision in March, the Ninth Circuit said documents requested under FOIA by rejected air traffic control candidate Jorge Alejandro Rojas were exempt from release even though they were generated by a third-party consultant. The court reasoned that the "consultant corollary doctrine," a theory adopted by seven circuit courts so far that prevents items from being shared under FOIA, extends to privileged documents prepared by private, outside consultants.

Read more here (accessible with free trial subscription).

FOIA News: In 2009, he filed a freedom of information request. Twelve years later he got answers

In 2009, he filed a freedom of information request. Twelve years later he got answers

By Asma Khalid, NPR, Oct. 24, 2021

The media's primary role in a functioning democracy is to hold the government accountable and keep citizens informed. And in order to do that, a free press needs access to certain documents, from FBI investigations to court filings, which brings us to the reporter's best friend or biggest headache. Those are the requests they file under the Freedom Of Information Act, or FOIA. That's where reporters hoping to dig into a story ask a government agency for information that they want. And then they wait and wait and wait and wait for weeks, for months and, in the case of Bruce Alpert, 12 years.

Read more here.