37 new FOIA court documents, plus case descriptions

We have added 37 documents from 7 FOIA cases filed between June 22, 2014 and June 28, 2014. Note that there can be delays between the date a case is filed and when it shows up on PACER. If there are filings from this period that have yet to be posted on PACER, this FOIA Project list may not be complete.

Click on a case title below to view details for that case, including links to the associated docket and complaint documents.

1. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Jun 23, 2014)
   Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Justice Department for records concerning communications between Deputy Attorney General James Cole and several legal organizations related to the Clemency Project. After hearing nothing further from the agency before the expiration of the 20-day time limit, Judicial Watch filed suit.
   Issues: conduct adequate search, disclosure of all non-exempt records by date certain, production of Vaughn index, attorney’s fees
2. JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (filed Jun 23, 2014)
   Judicial Watch submitted a FOIA request to the Justice Department for all emails from the Voting Section to Attorney General Eric Holder and other DOJ officials from October 2008 to December 2009. DOJ acknowledged receipt of the request and asked Judicial Watch to narrow the scope of the request. Judicial Watch narrowed the scope of the request, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Judicial Watch filed suit.
   Issues: conduct adequate search, disclosure of all non-exempt records by date certain, production of Vaughn index, attorney’s fees
3. Myers v. Stephens et al (filed Jun 23, 2014)
   Michael Myers made a FOIA request to the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys for records pertaining to evidence collected as part of his investigation and conviction. After appealing to the Office of Information Policy, which remanded the request to EOUSA for further processing, he filed suit.
   Issues: disclosure of all requested records, explanation of reasons for withholding records if claimed to be exempt, admission by agency that records were exculpatory
4. LEOPOLD et al v. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (filed Jun 24, 2014)
   Investigative journalist Jason Leopold and MIT Ph.D. student Ryan Shapiro submitted a FOIA request to the CIA for records concerning the ongoing dispute between the agency and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence pertaining to the committee’s ability to access classified information. Leopold and Shapiro requested expedited processing and a fee waiver. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and denied Leopold and Shapiro expedited processing, but made no decision on the fee waiver. After hearing nothing further from the agency, Leopold and Shapiro filed suit.
   Issues: improper withholding, grant expedited processing, disclosure of all non-exempt records without fees, attorney’s fees
5. Fleming v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE et al (filed Jun 24, 2014)
   George Fleming submitted a FOIA request to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas for records concerning his fraud trial. The agency acknowledged receipt of his request and asked for authentication. Fleming complied, but after hearing nothing further from the agency, he filed suit.
   Issues: improper withholding, disclosure of records, attorney’s fees
6. Evangelisti v. Perez et al. (filed Jun 25, 2014)
   John Evangelisti, an attorney, requested a copy of a CD containing a master copy of physicians used by Elsevier in scheduling Independent Medical Examinations. The CD had been sent to Elsevier as an attachment to a letter from the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs at the Department of Labor informing the company that the Office had received several FOIA requests for the company’s list of physicians used in scheduling Independent Medical Examinations. When the Office failed to respond within the statutory time limit, Evangelisti filed suit.
   Issues: improper withholding, disclosure of all records, attorney’s fees
7. HALL v. U.S. BUREAU OF PRISONS et al (filed Jun 26, 2014)
   Virgil Hall, a federal prisoner, submitted a FOIA/PA request to the Bureau of Prisons for records indicating who had signed his indictment. His request went unanswered. He then filed suit, claiming several violations of the Privacy Act – failure to provide an accounting of disclosures, and failure to maintain records in an accurate, fair, and complete manner. He also alleged this was intentional on the part of the agency.
   Issues: destruction of inaccurate records, appropriate relief