Castro v. IRS (D.D.C.) -- concluding that IRS performed reasonable search for records concerning plaintiff’s status as Enrolled Agent and that it properly withheld records pursuant to Exemption 7(A) and Exemption 3 in conjunction with 26 U.S.C. § 6103(a), (b), (e)(7).
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Ward v. DOJ (N.D. Tex.) -- dismissing case as moot because agency processed all records responsive to plaintiff’s request concerning his criminal case and none of plaintiff’s pleadings challenged the substance of agency’s response.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is publishing for comment proposed revisions to its regulations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The revisions are intended to incorporate amendments to the FOIA under the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, developments in the case law, and changes in Federal and EXIM policies. The proposed revisions are also intended to clarify procedural requirements. The proposed revisions occur throughout the FOIA regulations and are predominantly procedural in nature.
Comments should be received by April 21, 2022..
Read more here.
Washington v. GSA (W.D. Wash.) -- finding that: (1) plaintiff failed to properly allege a pattern-or-practice claim; (2) agency’s delay in providing a final determination was not “egregious,” but its failure to “promptly” release records warranted an expedited production schedule; (3) plaintiff’s challenges to the agency's exemption claims were premature because agency had not completed its productions; and (4) at agency’s suggestion, ordering agency to provide plaintiff with a Vaughn Index within ten days of the release of all remaining records.
Washington v. OMB (W.D. Wash.) -- finding that: (1) plaintiff failed to properly allege a pattern-or-practice claim; (2) agency’s delay in providing a final determination was not “egregious,” but its failure to “promptly” release records warranted an expedited production schedule; (3) plaintiff’s challenges to the agency's exemption claims were premature because agency had not completed its productions; and (4) at agency’s suggestion, ordering agency to provide plaintiff with a Vaughn Index within ten days of the release of all remaining records.
Washington v. NARA (W.D. Wash.) -- finding that: (1) plaintiff failed to properly allege a pattern-or-practice claim; (2) agency’s delay in providing a final determination was not “egregious,” but its failure to “promptly” release records warranted an expedited production schedule; (3) plaintiff’s challenges to the agency's exemption claims were premature because agency had not completed its productions; and (4) at agency’s suggestion, ordering agency to provide plaintiff with a Vaughn Index within ten days of the release of all remaining records.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.
Recognizing Sunshine Week
DHS, News Blog, Mar. 18, 2022
Sunshine Week is a moment to recognize one of the hallmarks of good government: an institution’s openness and transparency with respect to the work we perform and how we perform it. This fundamental principle speaks to any organization’s integrity and helps build trust between our government and the communities we serve.
As we carry out our critical homeland security missions, our Department is firmly committed to upholding the core ideal of accountability to the public while remaining guardians of people’s safety and security.
Read more here.
The Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy has posted a list of agencies that have completed their Chief FOIA Officer Reports for 2022. DOJ’s post will be populated with additional reports as they become available.
DUCKWORTH, LEAHY RE-INTRODUCE BILL TO STRENGTHEN OVERSIGHT OF EXECUTIVE BRANCH & INCREASE TRANSPARENCY
Press Release, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Mar. 16, 2022
Today, during the News Leaders Association's annual Sunshine Week that aims to promote transparency across our government, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) re-introduced legislation—the Demanding Oversight and Justification Over Legal Conclusions Transparency Act (DOJ OLC Transparency Act)—to strengthen oversight over the Executive Branch and increase government transparency by requiring the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) to publicly disclose all past legal opinions, as well as any it produces moving forward. Too often, legal opinions provided by the DOJ OLC are treated as binding by federal agencies, even though neither Congress nor the American public have access to all of these legal interpretations, which also have no Congressional or judicial oversight. In the past, secret DOJ OLC opinions have been used to justify torture and the claim that the President cannot be indicted while in office dates back to a famous Nixon-era OLC publication.
Read more here.
The Internal Revenue Service will no longer charge one-half of search time when a FOIA request seeks records that are maintained at a Federal Records Center, according to interim guidance issued by the agency on March 16, 2022.
FOIA TECH SHOWCASE FOLLOW UP WORKSHOP FOR AGENCIES
By DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, Mar. 17, 2022
The Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce a workshop for agencies as a follow up to the NextGen FOIA Tech Showcase held in February 2022. During last month’s Showcase, 18 private-sector vendors convened virtually to share potential solutions for all aspects of FOIA administration. Our follow-up workshop will offer government FOIA professionals a separate opportunity to share their experiences and ask questions about various technologies used by agencies for FOIA administration.
The workshop will be held virtually on Thursday, March 31, 2022, from 1:00 – 3:00 PM EST. A panel of agency representatives will discuss their experiences using different types of FOIA technologies, but attendees are encouraged to actively participate in asking questions and sharing their own experiences.
This event is open to federal agency employees only. Registration is required on Eventbrite. All attendees must register by 11:59 PM EST on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. Registered users will receive access instructions.
Swick v. U.S. Dep’t of the Army (D.D.C.) -- following multiple rounds of summary judgment, determining that the Army had satisfied plaintiff’s request for her personnel records and performed a reasonable search for test results related to plaintiff’s psychiatric report.
Summaries of all published opinions issued since April 2015 are available here.