FOIA News: Nominations open for government FOIA awards

OIP NOW ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2022 SUNSHINE WEEK FOIA AWARDS

DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, Jan. 31, 2022

The Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce that nominations are open for the 2022 Sunshine Week FOIA Awards, recognizing the contributions of FOIA professionals from around the government.  As the Supreme Court declared, “[t]he basic purpose of [the] FOIA is to ensure an informed citizenry, vital to the functioning of a democratic society . . . .”  Agency FOIA professionals are at the center of ensuring that the important purpose of this law is fulfilled and we look forward to celebrating the work of these individuals from around the government.  For this year’s event, OIP is seeking nominations for five categories of awards:

• Exceptional Service by a FOIA Professional or Team of FOIA Professionals

• Outstanding Contributions by a New Employee

• Exceptional Advancements in IT to Improve the Agency’s FOIA Administration

• Exceptional Advancements in Proactive Disclosure of Information

• Lifetime Service Award

Nominations can be submitted by agencies or by a member of the public.  All nominations are due to OIP by Friday, February 25

Read more here.

Court opinion issued Jan. 30, 2022

Louise Trauma Ctr. v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- holding that: (1) DOJ failed to provide sufficient information to permit court to determine propriety of agency’s reliance on Exemption 5’s attorney-client, attorney work-product, and deliberative process privileges to withhold certain appellate training material; and (2) Civil Division performed adequate search for studies and analyses of the “foreseeable harm” standard of the 2016 FOIA Improvement Act.

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

FOIA News: FOIA regulatory actions by two agencies

• The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is adopting revised FOIA regulations effective March 3, 2022, which follows a notice and comment period that took place from August 30, 2021, to September 29, 2021.

• The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has proposed to amend its FOIA regulations and will accept public comments on or before March 3, 2022.

FOIA News: Symposium on "Saving the Freedom of Information Act"

Introduction to Our Symposium on Margaret B. Kwoka’s “Saving the Freedom of Information Act”

By Christina Koningisor, Yale J. on Reg., Jan. 31, 2022

This is the introduction to a symposium on Margaret Kwoka’s new book, Saving the Freedom of Information Act. For other posts in the series, click here.

I am very pleased to kick off this two-week Notice and Comment symposium on Margaret Kwoka’s new book Saving the Freedom of Information Act. We have an excellent set of scholars and practitioners lined up to explore the implications of her work. There will be a new post each morning, and the collection in its entirety will be available here.

Read more here.

Court opinions issued Jan. 27-28, 2022

Jan. 28, 2022

Majuc v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- concluding that with one minor exception, DOJ properly used Exemptions 4, 6, 7(A), and 7(C) to withhold records concerning criminal investigation of BNP Paribas, S.A. and its affiliates for evading economic sanctions against various countries.

Callimachi v. FBI (D.D.C.) -- ruling that: (1) FBI properly relied on Exemptions 6 and 7(C) in refusing to confirm or deny the existence of records concerning certain Romanian politicians; (2) FBI properly invoked Exemptions 1 & 3 in refusing to confirm or deny existence of records concerning Romania’s intelligence service; and (3) FBI performed adequate search for records concerning death of former Romanian ambassador and properly withheld records pursuant to Exemptions 1, 7(D), and 7(E).

Jan. 27, 2022

Cause of Action Inst. v. Export-Import Bank (D.D.C.) -- on renewed summary judgment and following in camera review, determining that: (1) agency improperly withheld email received from Vice President’s staff as non-agency records; (2) agency failed to show that certain information contained in weekly reports was “obtained from a person,” but agency’s remaining Exemption 4 withholdings were proper; (3) agency properly withheld some, but not all, disputed records under Exemption 5’s deliberative process privilege; of note, ordering release of one of three documents sent to GAO because it was created to assist GAO and ultimately Congress and thus not an inter-agency or intra-agency record.

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

FOIA News: Pfizer seeks to intervene in vaccine lawsuit against FDA

Pfizer in Texas showdown: Court hearing this week will decide if it can assist FDA in providing COVID documents

By Kevin Dunleavy, Fierce Pharma, Jan. 27, 2022

Texas federal judge Mark Pittman will conduct a hearing on Friday to consider whether to allow Pfizer to participate in the redaction and release of information about the development of its COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty.

Earlier this month, Pittman ruled that the FDA would have to turn over 55,000 pages of documentation on the vaccine per month, starting on March 1. This will be a huge task for the regulator, which would need to hire a team of 15 specialists at an expense of “some $3 million,” the FDA said in a Jan. 18 court filing.

Last Friday, Pfizer provided the court a memorandum outlining why it should participate in the process.

Read more here.

FOIA News: GAO releases FOIA performance audit

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has release a 92-page performance audit entitled “Selected Agencies Adapted to the Covid-19 Pandemic but Face Ongoing Challenges and Backlogs.” Highlights of the report are available here.

Court opinions issued Jan. 25, 2022

Eddington v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- concluding that DOJ’s National Security Division properly invoked Exemptions 1, 6, 7(A), and 7(C) in refusing to confirm or deny the existence of intelligence and investigative records related to Amir Mohamed Meshal, a U.S. citizen who was detained by both Kenyan and Ethiopian government entities between 2006 and 2007.

Sheppard v. DOJ (W.D. Mo.) -- finding that plaintiff was entitled to $344,122.30 in attorney’s fees out of $444,314 requested and reducing award primarily due to excessive time spent on complaint and duplicative staffing; declining to discount fees merely because plaintiff did not obtain all disputed records.

Yassein v. El Paso Intelligence Ctr. (S.D. Cal.) -- dismissing case because plaintiff did not reasonably describe records sought from Drug Enforcement Administration and agency made good faith attempt to seek clarification, which plaintiff ignored.

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

FOIA News: ICYMI, FOIA tech demos for federal employees

SAVE THE DATE: UPCOMING NEXGEN FOIA TECH SHOWCASE FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES

DOJ/OIP. FOIA Post, Jan. 24, 2022

The Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce that the Technology Committee of the Chief FOIA Officers (CFO) Council, in conjunction with OIP and the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), will host a two-day event for federal agencies called the NexGen FOIA Tech Showcase on February 9 and 10, 2022.    

The Showcase is intended to identify FOIA technology solutions for federal agencies in response to existing FOIA case processing challenges and to raise awareness among federal agencies of the different technology capabilities to consider for future case processing.  A variety of vendors will provide demonstrations of their case management and other advanced technology products for use in agency FOIA administration.  Agency Q&A with the vendor will follow each demonstration. 

This event is open to federal agency employees only.  Registration is required on Eventbrite.  All attendees must register by 11:59 PM EDT on Monday, February 7, 2022.  Registered users will receive access instructions.  Additional details about the Chief FOIA Officers Council and the meeting, including the agenda, will be available on the OIP and OGIS websites. 

FOIA News: D.C. Circuit to hear FOIA case Feb. 4

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will entertain a FOIA case, Eddington v. DOD, on Friday, February 4, 2022. Appellant Patrick Eddington, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, failed to persuade the district court that any components of the Department of Defense had actually received his 14 FOIA requests transmitted by email. A copy of the district court’s decision is here.