Case Detail

FOIA Project Annotation: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has ruled that the CIA properly withheld records about President George Bush and Zapata Petroleum Corporation in response to a request from the James Madison Project and journalist Jefferson Morley under Exemption 1 (national security), but agreed with its claim the agency has failed to justify its claims under Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy) and Exemption 7(C) (invasion of privacy concerning law enforcement records). Although JMP and Morley argued that the agency's affidavits justifying the Exemption 1 claims had not taken account of the age of the documents, Brown Jackson disagreed. Instead, she noted that "specifically, because the twenty-five -year-old records discuss sources and methods that are 'still in active use,' they are exempt from the automatic declassification under section 3.3(b) of the Executive Order. And with respect to the records that are over fifty years old, which also discuss methods still in use, the supplemental declaration notes that the Director of the CIA has exempted 'sensitive information that could reveal an intelligence method in active use' and that the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel has approved this exemption, consistent with sections 3.3(h) and (j) of the Executive Order." However, Brown Jackson found the agencies privacy exemptions wanting. She pointed out that "notwithstanding the records' manifest dearth of detailed identifying information, the CIA maintains that 'the release of this information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of these individuals' personal privacy' because 'knowledgeable people' could determine the individuals' identity based on 'information that is not publicly accessible or available to the Agency.' These allegations are the exact type of speculative assertions that this Court has repeatedly rejected."
Issues: Exemption 1 - Harm to national security, Exemption 7(C) - Invasion of privacy concerning law enforcement records

Date Filed	Doc #	Docket Text
2018-12-27	1	COMPLAINT against CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0090-5859535) filed by THE JAMES MADISON PROJECT, JEFFERSON MORLEY. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Exhibit Rule 7.1 certification, # 3 Summons CIA, # 4 Summons USADC, # 5 Summons USAG)(Moss, Bradley) (Entered: 12/27/2018)
2018-12-28		Case Assigned to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. (zef, ) (Entered: 12/28/2018)
2018-12-28	2	SUMMONS (3) Issued Electronically as to CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zef, ) (Entered: 12/28/2018)
2019-01-02	3	NOTICE of Appearance by Mark Steven Zaid on behalf of All Plaintiffs (Zaid, Mark) (Entered: 01/02/2019)
2019-01-11	4	MOTION for Leave to File First Amended Complaint by JAMES MADISON PROJECT, JEFFERSON MORLEY (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum in Support, # 2 Exhibit A - First Amended Complaint, # 3 Text of Proposed Order)(Moss, Bradley) (Entered: 01/11/2019)
2019-01-24	5	GENERAL ORDER AND GUIDELINES APPLICABLE TO FOIA CASES ASSIGNED TO JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON. The Court will hold the parties and counsel responsible for following these directives, and parties and counsel should pay particular attention to the Court's instructions for processing and production of records, batching motions, and filing exhibits. Failure to adhere to this Order may, when appropriate, result the imposition of sanctions and/or sua sponte denial of non-conforming motions. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 1/24/2019. (lckbj1) (Entered: 01/24/2019)
2019-01-24	6	RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 1/7/2019. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 2/6/2019. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit USADC receipt)(Moss, Bradley) (Entered: 01/24/2019)
2019-01-25		MINUTE ORDER granting 4 Motion for Leave to File Amended Complaint. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 1/25/2019. (lckbj1) (Entered: 01/25/2019)
2019-01-25	9	AMENDED COMPLAINT against CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY filed by JAMES MADISON PROJECT, JEFFERSON MORLEY.(jf) (Entered: 02/04/2019)
2019-01-29	7	NOTICE of Appearance by Damon William Taaffe on behalf of All Defendants (Taaffe, Damon) (Entered: 01/29/2019)
2019-02-01	8	Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Answer re 1 Complaint, by CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (Taaffe, Damon) (Entered: 02/01/2019)
2019-02-04		MINUTE ORDER granting, for good cause shown, 8 Consent Motion for Extension of Time to Answer. It is hereby ORDERED that Defendant shall answer or otherwise respond to the complaint on or before 2/27/2019. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 2/4/2019. (lckbj1) (Entered: 02/04/2019)
2019-02-15	10	NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL by Christopher Charles Hair on behalf of All Defendants (Hair, Christopher) (Entered: 02/15/2019)
2019-02-27	11	NOTICE of Intent to File Answer by CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (Hair, Christopher) (Entered: 02/27/2019)
2019-02-27	12	ANSWER to 9 Amended Complaint by CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY.(Hair, Christopher) (Entered: 02/27/2019)
2019-02-28		MINUTE ORDER. Before the Court in this FOIA case are a complaint and an answer. It is hereby ORDERED that the parties shall promptly confer and file a joint proposed schedule for briefing or disclosure, on or before 3/14/2019. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 2/28/2019. (lckbj1) (Entered: 02/28/2019)
2019-03-14	13	Joint STATUS REPORT by CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY. (Hair, Christopher) (Entered: 03/14/2019)
2019-06-14		MINUTE ORDER. It is hereby ORDERED that, on or before 6/28/2019, the parties shall file a joint status report, which shall include a proposed schedule for further proceedings if litigation is going to be necessary. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 6/14/2019. (lckbj1) (Entered: 06/14/2019)
2019-06-28	14	NOTICE of Defendant's Completion of Processing and Disclosure of Records and Proposed Briefing Schedule by CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (Hair, Christopher) (Entered: 06/28/2019)
2019-07-05		MINUTE ORDER setting briefing schedule for summary judgment: Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment shall be served on or before 8/9/2019; Plaintiffs' Opposition and Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment shall be served on or before 8/30/2019; Defendant's Reply and Cross-Motion Opposition shall be served on or before 9/13/2019; Plaintiffs' Cross-Motion Reply shall be served on or before 9/27/2019; briefs shall be filed as a batch within three (3) business days of the service of the last reply brief authorized by this Minute Order, but in any event no later than the Final Filing Deadline of 11/1/2019. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 7/5/2019. (lckbj1) (Entered: 07/05/2019)
2019-08-09	15	NOTICE of Service of Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment by CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (Hair, Christopher) (Entered: 08/09/2019)
2019-08-30	16	NOTICE of Service by JAMES MADISON PROJECT, JEFFERSON MORLEY (Moss, Bradley) (Entered: 08/30/2019)
2019-10-11	17	NOTICE of Service of Defendant's Reply Memorandum by CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (Hair, Christopher) (Entered: 10/11/2019)
2019-10-21	18	MOTION for Summary Judgment by CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum in Support, # 2 Statement of Facts, # 3 Declaration of Anoinette B. Shiner, # 4 Exhibit (attached to Shiner Declaration), # 5 Declaration of David M. Hardy, # 6 Text of Proposed Order)(Hair, Christopher) (Entered: 10/21/2019)
2019-10-21	19	Memorandum in opposition to re 18 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by JAMES MADISON PROJECT, JEFFERSON MORLEY. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1 - Moss Declaration, # 2 Statement of Facts Response, # 3 Text of Proposed Order)(Moss, Bradley) (Entered: 10/21/2019)
2019-10-21	20	REPLY to opposition to motion re 18 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration of Anoinette B. Shiner (Supplemental), # 2 Declaration of David M. Hardy (Supplemental))(Hair, Christopher) (Entered: 10/21/2019)
2020-09-23	21	MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER granting in part and denying in part Defendant's 18 Motion for Summary Judgment and requiring the parties to file, on or before October 7, 2020, a joint proposed schedule for the filing of a supplemental declaration by Defendant, a Vaughn Index, and Defendant's revised motion for summary judgment, if it wishes to refile one. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 09/23/2020. (lcnj) (Entered: 09/23/2020)
2020-10-07	22	PROPOSED BRIEFING SCHEDULE re 21 Order,, Memorandum & Opinion,, Set Deadlines, (Joint Proposed Schedule) by CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY. (Hair, Christopher) (Entered: 10/07/2020)
2020-11-06		MINUTE ORDER adopting the parties' proposed briefing schedule for renewed motions for summary judgment: Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment shall be served on or before 12/30/2020; Plaintiffs' Opposition shall be served on or before 1/13/2021; Defendant's Reply shall be served on or before 1/20/2021; briefs shall be filed as a batch within three (3) business days of the service of the last reply brief authorized by this Minute Order, but in any event no later than the Final Filing Deadline of 2/19/2021. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 11/6/2020. (jag) (Entered: 11/06/2020)
2021-03-09	23	Joint MOTION to Vacate Order,,, Set Deadlines,, (Vacate Briefing Schedule, Nunc Pro Tunc) by CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY. (Hair, Christopher) (Entered: 03/09/2021)
2021-03-30	24	Joint STATUS REPORT by CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY. (Hair, Christopher) (Entered: 03/30/2021)
2021-04-28		MINUTE ORDER. Where only attorneys' fees remain at issue in a FOIA case, it is the practice of this Court to close the case administratively while it awaits notice from the parties regarding settlement of the attorneys' fees or a joint proposed schedule for briefing this remaining dispute. Accordingly, in light of the representations in the parties' 24 Joint Status Report, it is hereby ORDERED that this matter be ADMINISTRATIVELY CLOSED. It is FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall file a joint status report on or before 5/28/2021, which shall contain a proposed schedule for briefing the issue of attorneys' fees, if such briefing is going to be necessary. Signed by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on 4/28/2021. (jag) (Entered: 04/28/2021)
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