Court opinion issued Nov. 10. 2025

Alford v. Collins (D.D.C.) -- finding that: (1) Department of Veterans Affairs performed an adequate search related to pro se plaintiff’s own benefits, vocational rehabilitation, and the agency’s handling of his prior requests for relief; (2) the VA properly withheld draft advisory opinions and internal deliberations under Exemption 5’s deliberative process privilege, but it failed to justify other Exemption 5 withholdings and did not meet its segregability obligation for documents withheld in full; and (3) the VA properly relied on Exemption 6 to redact the names of low-level employees.

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2025 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2024 and from 2015 to 2023.

FOIA News: The Future of FOIA?

A newly launched post-apocalyptic website imagines a world decades into the future in which the “Authority Department of Border Management” oversees travel, commerce, and security between five “protected safe zones” following a global environmental collapse in 2041. Within this fictional universe, the site recounts the history of the Freedom of Information Act. In the Authority’s narrative, FOIA became a liability after the catastrophic event known as the Scorching. According to the site, unrestricted transparency contributed to major security failures, including incidents called the Phoenix Breach and the Omaha Infiltration, while also straining resources critical to survival. These factors led to the repeal of FOIA in 2042, as the Authority prioritized safety and stability over public oversight in the post-collapse world.

Following FOIA’s repeal, the “Information Access Act” was enacted to replace it, establishing strict controls over access to government records. Under the IAA, all documents are classified by default, and only personnel with the appropriate security clearance can view them. Judicial review was removed entirely, consolidating control over information within the Authority and framing secrecy as essential to maintaining the integrity and security of the protected zones.

It remains unknown who created this site.

FOIA News: DHS abandoned text preservation software, FOIA lawsuit reveals

To Preserve Records, Homeland Security Now Relies on Officials to Take Screenshots

Experts say the new policy, which ditches software that automatically captured text messages, opens ample room for both willful and unwitting noncompliance with federal records laws.

By Minho Kim, NY Times, Nov. 6, 2025

The Department of Homeland Security has stopped using software that automatically captured text messages and saved trails of communication between officials, according to sworn court statements filed this week.

Instead, the agency began in April to require officials to manually take screenshots of their messages to comply with federal records laws, citing cybersecurity concerns with the autosave software.

Public records experts say the new record-keeping policy opens ample room for both willful and unwitting noncompliance with federal open records laws in an administration that has already shown a lack of interest in, or willingness to skirt, records laws. That development could be particularly troubling as the department executes President Trump’s aggressive agenda of mass deportations, a campaign that has included numerous accusations of misconduct by law enforcement officials, the experts said.

Read more here.

Court opinions issued Nov. 3, 2025

Viola v. DOJ (3rd. Cir.) -- affirming in part and vacating in part district court’s decision concerning records related to federal government’s prosecution of plaintiff-appellant, and holding that: (1) the district court properly dismissed plaintiff-appellant’s claim against a task force comprised of state and local government entities, because federal funding and oversight did not convert those entities into federal agencies; (2) the district court correctly found that EOUSA performed a reasonable search, but erred in concluding that the FBI’s search was adequate because the FBI failed to demonstrate that it searched all locations likely to contain responsive records; (3) the district court properly found that Exemptions 6 and 7(C) protected records related to third parties, except for EOUSA’s full withholding of certain trial exhibits, correspondence, and witness statements in full; and (4) the FBI’s withholdings under Exemption 7(D) were improvidently granted because the agency failed to provide sufficient evidence that its sources had an implied assurance of confidentiality; and (5) the district court incorrectly upheld FBI’s withholding of database search results under Exemption 7(E), because the agency’s use of that database was a routine technique and the agency failed to show a reasonable risk of circumvention of law.

Stevens v. Dep't of the Army (N.D. Ill.) -- in case concerning records related to Northwestern University’s proposed expansion into Lake Michigan, the court determined that: (1) the Army unreasonably referred plaintiff’s request to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers without conducting its own search for records; and (2) plaintiff constructively exhausted her administrative remedies prior to filing suit and the Army’s subsequent referral of the request to the Wisconsin Army National Guard did not reset exhaustion requirements; and (3) the Wisconsin National Guard conducted a reasonable search of physical records related to a helicopter flight, but it did not adequately explain its search for electronically-stored records.

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2025 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2024 and from 2015 to 2023.

Monthly roundup: October 2025

Below is a summary of the notable FOIA court decisions and news from last month, as well as a look ahead to FOIA events in November.

Court opinions

We posted and summarized 15 opinions in October—a sharp decline from 29 last month. The most significant ruling was the D.C. Circuit’s decision in Campaign for Accountability v. DOJ (Oct. 17), which held that opinions of the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel are not subject to FOIA’s “reading-room” disclosure requirements. The court reasoned that such opinions are neither “final opinions made in the adjudication of cases” nor “statements of policy or interpretations adopted by the agency,” but rather are best understood as confidential legal advice provided to executive branch agencies. A concurring opinion argued that plaintiff-appellee lacked standing because it failed to show that disclosure of the OLC opinions would likely redress any concrete informational injury.

Top news

• A lapse in appropriations on October 1, 2025, effectively suspended many FOIA operations and litigation.

• EPA plans to rescind expedited processing regulation for “environmental justice,” per E&E News.

November calendar (these events may be affected by the partial government shutdown)

Nov. 5: DOJ/OIP Virtual Introduction to the Freedom of Information Act

Nov. 12: DOJ/OIP Virtual Litigation Seminar

Nov. 12: Agency Annual FOIA Reports due to OIP for Review

Court opinion issued Oct. 31, 2025

William & Connolly v. DHS (D.D.C.) -- concluding that ICE conducted an adequate search for records related to individuals involved in a sanctions evasion case in the Southern District of New York, and that CBP and USCIS properly withheld records pursuant to FOIA Exemptions 6 and 7(C) and met the statute’s foreseeable harm and segregability requirements. 

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2025 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2024 and from 2015 to 2023.

Court opinion issued Oct. 29, 2025

Ecological Rights Found. v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs (N.D. Cal.) -- on motion for attorney’s fees and costs, ruling that: (1) plaintiff was ineligible for an award against the National Marine Fisheries Service because the agency had issued determinations before the lawsuit was filed; rejecting plaintiff’s argument that NMFS’s referral of certain records negated a final determination, finding instead that the referral constituted a constructive withholding subject to administrative appeal; (2) alternatively, plaintiff was not a prevailing party against NMFS as the lawsuit did not prompt the agency to alter its position or disclose additional responsive records; (3) plaintiff was eligible for an award against USACE because its lawsuit served as a catalyst for the agency’s additional searches, record releases, and agreement to produce documents in native format with metadata; and (4) plaintiff was entitled to an award bases on traditional four-factor test, but reducing requested amount to exclude time spent on unsuccessful claims and excessive or duplicative billing.

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2025 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2024 and from 2015 to 2023.

FOIA News: FOIA-shadowing for John Bolton

FOIA Requests Presaged Trouble for Trump Nemesis Bolton

By John A. Jenkins, Law St. Media, Oct. 29, 2025

When the Justice Department unsealed its indictment of John R. Bolton two weeks ago, it wasn’t the first time his name had surfaced in government files.

Long before prosecutors accused the former national security adviser and Donald Trump nemesis of mishandling classified information, Bolton had already become the subject of a flurry of Freedom of Information Act requests — filings that hinted at the controversies still shadowing him years after he left the White House. 

Unnamed requesters as well as the corporate intermediary Cogency Global sought records about Bolton’s behind-the-scenes diplomacy and dealings:  his contacts with Attorney General William Barr, his efforts to block a Chinese takeover of a Ukrainian aerospace firm, even the government’s internal emails about a Justice Department tweet disparaging Bolton in 2020.

Read more here

Court opinion issued Oct. 24, 2025

New Orleans Navy Housing v. U.S. Dep’t of the Navy (E.D. La.) -- on renewed summary judgment, ruling that the Navy properly relied on Exemption 5’s deliberative process and attorney–client privileges, met the statute’s foreseeable harm requirement, conducted an adequate segregability analysis, and that in camera review was unnecessary given the agency’s supplemental submissions.

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2025 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2024 and from 2015 to 2023.

Court opinion issued Oct. 23, 2025

Levitt v. IRS (N.D. Ala.) -- dismissing case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction because plaintiff lacked Article III standing, having submitted the FOIA request on behalf of his client while filing the lawsuit in his personal capacity.

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2025 are available here. Earlier opinions are available for 2024 and from 2015 to 2023.