As the FOIA requestor's intention was to write a book published by an academic press, it was an abuse of discretion to hold that the motive for the request was commercial in nature.
Since 2011. An occasional commonplacing of the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal.
Neither an authoritative statement of the law nor legal advice. Quick work.
Showing posts with label FOIA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FOIA. Show all posts
Second Circuit: Osen LLC v. United States Central Command
Prior military FOIA disclosures about specific incidents did not generically waive withholding about similar incidents; the waiver doctrine requires that the waiving disclosure be identical in both specificity and matter, and different incidents are inherently different matters.
Although the military cannot, under a mosaic theory, withhold disclosures of large amounts of data, but the disclosure is justified where the military contends that each element of the mosaic (each disclosure) might provide information about critical vulnerabilities.
Second Circuit: Am. Civil Liberties Union v. U.S. Dep’t of Defense
The Secretary's designation of the photos as protected under the Act was logical and plausible given the consultations with military commanders and the commanders' detailed reports of the military situation.
http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/e4d28d9e-9be6-4844-a955-5bf7b1ff418f/1/doc/17-779amm%20com_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/e4d28d9e-9be6-4844-a955-5bf7b1ff418f/1/hilite/
http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/e4d28d9e-9be6-4844-a955-5bf7b1ff418f/1/doc/17-779amm%20com_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/e4d28d9e-9be6-4844-a955-5bf7b1ff418f/1/hilite/
DC Circuit: Morley v. CIA
Court did not abuse its discretion in denying award of fees in FOIA action, as court might reasonably have found the agency's actions to be reasonable.
Dissent: Violation of a statute requiring agency to disclose otherwise available documents instead of referring the requester to the alternate source was, by it terms, unreasonable.
https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/FAFBF71409B33B0E852582C50070FE19/$file/17-5114-1739739.pdf
Dissent: Violation of a statute requiring agency to disclose otherwise available documents instead of referring the requester to the alternate source was, by it terms, unreasonable.
https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/FAFBF71409B33B0E852582C50070FE19/$file/17-5114-1739739.pdf
Second Circuit: American Civil Liberties Union v. Department of Justice
Prevailing party who can demonstrate a likelihood of harm from an incidental disclosure in the court's decision has standing to seek appellate review of that decision as an aggrieved party.
Where the challenged dictum is not necessary to the holding and the government party to the case can advance a reasonably debatable argument for its falsity, there is a substantial possibility of material harms to the government's interests from disclosure, and the fact is available in publicly available sources, the court may redact the statement from the opinion.
http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/43875d78-c1de-461c-92e1-0df1db0fda59/1/doc/17-157_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/43875d78-c1de-461c-92e1-0df1db0fda59/1/hilite/
Where the challenged dictum is not necessary to the holding and the government party to the case can advance a reasonably debatable argument for its falsity, there is a substantial possibility of material harms to the government's interests from disclosure, and the fact is available in publicly available sources, the court may redact the statement from the opinion.
http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/43875d78-c1de-461c-92e1-0df1db0fda59/1/doc/17-157_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/43875d78-c1de-461c-92e1-0df1db0fda59/1/hilite/
Seventh Circuit: J. Donald Henson, Sr. v. HHS
FOIA does not create a cause of action against individual employees.
No error in magistrate's case managment order setting a summary judgment motion prior to discovery.
Agency's search and redactions were proper; plaintiff did not challenge specific exemptions.
No clear error in agency exemptions for attorney/client privilege, trade secret, and personnel reasons.
http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2018/D06-15/C:17-1750:J:Hamilton:aut:T:fnOp:N:2171542:S:0
No error in magistrate's case managment order setting a summary judgment motion prior to discovery.
Agency's search and redactions were proper; plaintiff did not challenge specific exemptions.
No clear error in agency exemptions for attorney/client privilege, trade secret, and personnel reasons.
http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2018/D06-15/C:17-1750:J:Hamilton:aut:T:fnOp:N:2171542:S:0
Sixth Circuit: Detroit Free Press v. Dep't of Justice
FOIA, Privacy
Given the privacy interests of the individual, booking photos qualify for an exception to federal public disclosure laws.
Concurrence -- Sometimes, there might be a public interest established to the contrary.
Dissent -- Where common law and practice don't establish the right, it can't be the referent of the explicit statutory exception.
Detroit Free Press v. Dep't of Justice
Second Circuit: Florez v. CIA
FOIA
A second agency's post-response disclosures probative of the first agency's refusal to provide information justify a limited remand to the District Court in the interests of judicial efficiency.
Dissent: The review is limited to a review of the sufficiency of the initial agency decision--error to remand without a specific link to the earlier decision process.
Florez v. CIA
DC Circuit: Competitive Enterprise Institute v. Office of Science and Technology Policy
FOIA
Where the documents have not been ceded to the individual, documents on external, non-government websites are within the scope of FOIA.
Concur: Presumption of government control over agency records.
Competitive Enterprise Institute v. Office of Science and Technology Policy
Fourth Circuit: Solers, Incorporated v. IRS
FOIA
Trial court in camera review meant that the agency didn't have to make a showing on all of the common-law elements adjudicating the withholding of documents.
No abuse of discretion on merits, given thought-process excepetion, etc.
Solers, Incorporated v. IRS
DC Circuit: Florent Bayala v. DHS
FOIA
Withholding of single document means FOIA claim is not moot - plaintiff's averment that the document is no longer being sought means that administrative exhaustion is moot, though.
As administrative exhaustion is not jurisdictional, remand to consider whether gov't litigation strategy comports with statute.
Florent Bayala v. DHS
Second Circuit: Main Street Legal Services v. National Security Council
FOIA
The NSA is not an agency subject to FOIA.
The sole statutory function of the agency is to advise the President.
Precedent suggesting that it is an agency subject to FOIA derives from the time when it ran the CIA.
No additional APA jurisdiction from staff structure, Presidential directives, prior rulemmakings, etc.
Dismissal on merits proper, because the FOIA requirements are not jurisdictional but instead speak to the remedies available to the court.
Discovery properly denied, as there was no showing of eventual remedy.
"X-Files" Bonus: No caption on the Circuits's web page - just linked from a hyphen in the upper-left.
http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/5cfcaf68-de00-4f91-ab9b-7ae48aa36f61/1/doc/13-3792comb_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/5cfcaf68-de00-4f91-ab9b-7ae48aa36f61/1/hilite/
The NSA is not an agency subject to FOIA.
The sole statutory function of the agency is to advise the President.
Precedent suggesting that it is an agency subject to FOIA derives from the time when it ran the CIA.
No additional APA jurisdiction from staff structure, Presidential directives, prior rulemmakings, etc.
Dismissal on merits proper, because the FOIA requirements are not jurisdictional but instead speak to the remedies available to the court.
Discovery properly denied, as there was no showing of eventual remedy.
"X-Files" Bonus: No caption on the Circuits's web page - just linked from a hyphen in the upper-left.
http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/5cfcaf68-de00-4f91-ab9b-7ae48aa36f61/1/doc/13-3792comb_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/5cfcaf68-de00-4f91-ab9b-7ae48aa36f61/1/hilite/
DC Circuit: Jefferson Morley v. CIA
FOIA, Fees
Fees should be partially denied for FOIA proceedings that partially result in records already in the public domain only where the fees that resulted in public documents are segregable and whether the difficulties encountered militate against denial of fees.
https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/3D5B77098A5F717385257F41006AF4C8/$file/14-5230-1594919.pdf
Fees should be partially denied for FOIA proceedings that partially result in records already in the public domain only where the fees that resulted in public documents are segregable and whether the difficulties encountered militate against denial of fees.
https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/3D5B77098A5F717385257F41006AF4C8/$file/14-5230-1594919.pdf
DC Circuit: National Security Counselors v. CIA
Fees
A bona fide corporation with an identity distinct from that of the natural person who represents it in court is eligible for fee-shifting provisions of FOIA. In house counsel presumptively distinct from corporation, despite close involvement and personal commitment.
https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/EBD08628AB46B5D185257F3B0054CBEF/$file/14-5171-1593790.pdf
A bona fide corporation with an identity distinct from that of the natural person who represents it in court is eligible for fee-shifting provisions of FOIA. In house counsel presumptively distinct from corporation, despite close involvement and personal commitment.
https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/EBD08628AB46B5D185257F3B0054CBEF/$file/14-5171-1593790.pdf
DC Circuit: Anteneh Abtew v. DHS
Immigration/ FOIA
Asylum petitioner's FOIA request for agency's internal report of merits of claim properly upheld under deliberative process exception.
Agency not estopped from denying claim by providing data in other similar situations.
Judicial processes exist that would allow petitioner to access the documents.
https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/400CFDA022B7BEE985257F2300573100/$file/14-5169-1589960.pdf
Asylum petitioner's FOIA request for agency's internal report of merits of claim properly upheld under deliberative process exception.
Agency not estopped from denying claim by providing data in other similar situations.
Judicial processes exist that would allow petitioner to access the documents.
https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/400CFDA022B7BEE985257F2300573100/$file/14-5169-1589960.pdf
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