FOIA Advisor

Court opinions issued Mar. 28, 2022

Court Opinions (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

Neese v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- determining that: (1) Office of Professional Responsibility performed adequate search for records concerning its investigation of plaintiff for professional misconduct, and (2) OPR and/or FBI properly withheld records pursuant to Exemptions 3 (grand jury material), 5 (deliberative process privilege), and 6 & 7(C), but FBI failed to meaningfully explain applicability of Exemption 7(E)

Cabezas v. FBI (D.D.C.) -- finding that FBI conducted adequate search for records concerning plaintiff’s criminal case and that it properly withheld records pursuant to Exemptions 5, 6, 7(C) and 7(E).

Informed Consent Action Network v. FDA (S.D.N.Y.) -- concluding that plaintiff’s request for certain clinical trial records was not reasonably described because it contained several latent ambiguities, and that FDA’s willingness to process broader set of records satisfied agency’s obligation to assist plaintiff.

Judicial Watch v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- ruling that multiple components of DOJ performed reasonable searches for records concerning a 2018 meeting with Associated Press reporters, but that DOJ failed to ask EOUSA to search email account of one Assistant United States Attorney who had attended meeting at issue.

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