FOIA Advisor

Court opinions issued Oct. 5, 2020

Court Opinions (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

Pub. Justice Found. v. Farm Service Agency (N.D. Cal.) -- determining that agency’s declarations were too conclusory to show that agency performed adequate search for records pertaining to its FOIA policies and directives.

Council on American-Islamic Relations v. U.S. Customs & Border Prot. (W.D. Wash.) -- ruling that: (1) agency failed to show that it conducted reasonable search for records pertaining to heightened screening instructions issued by Seattle Office in January 2020; (2) agency improperly relied on deliberative process privilege to withhold discussions of “public-facing” statement; (3) agency properly relied on Exemption 6 to withhold employee email addresses and names of lower-level officials, but was required to release names of two senior officials who implement policy at issue; (4) agency did not provide sufficient details to permit court to evaluate its Exemption 7(E) claim and ordering in camera review of disputed documents.

Bragg v. CIA (D.D.C.) -- dismissing suit because plaintiff failed to respond to government’s motion to dismiss on exhaustion grounds.

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