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 January.
Court opinions
We posted and summarized 9 opinions in December, the second fewest of the year (after May’s eight). The standout was Am. First Legal Found. v. Roberts (D.D.C. Dec. 18), which held that the Judicial Conference of the United States and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts are not “agencies” under FOIA.
Top news
DHS amended its FOIA regulations on December 23rd, requiring requests to be submitted via web portals, unless a requester lacks Internet access
The Chief FOIA Officers Council met on December 15th, which includes updates from OIP, OGIS, and two committees. Presentation slides here.
On December 3rd, two brothers were arrested for conspiring to destroy government databases after being fired from OPEXUS, a government contractor that helps agencies manage investigations and FOIA requests.
January calendar
Jan. 9: Nat’l Assn. of Legal Assistants FOIA 101 Introduction to the Federal Freedom of Information Act.
Jan. 13: DOJ/OIP Virtual Exemption 4 and Exemption 5 Training.
Jan. 21: DOJ/OIP Virtual Privacy Considerations Training.
Jan. 28: DOJ/OIP Virtual Administrative Appeals, FOIA Compliance, and Customer Service Training.
Jan. 29: D.C. Circuit oral argument in Gun Owners of America v. ATF, No. 25-5309.
Jan. 30: DOJ/OIP FY26 Q1 Data Due.