We have added 102 documents from 16 FOIA cases filed between May 3, 2020 and May 9, 2020. 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.
- CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (filed May 6, 2020)
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington submitted FOIA requests to the Department of Education and Department of Housing and Urban Development for records concerning the Urban Revitalization Coalition, a non-profit group founded and operated by supporters of President Trump. CREW sent two requests to the Department of Education pertaining to a cancelled event at Virginia Union University scheduled to honor President Trump on Martin Luther King Day read more…
We have added 12 decisions of a procedural or substantive nature filed between May 3, 2020 and May 9, 2020. These are associated with 11 FOIA cases pending in federal district court. Note that because there can be delays between the date a decision is made and when it shows up on PACER, this listing includes only decisions that appeared on PACER during this period.
Click on the date to view the full text of the decision. Click on a case title below to view other details for that case, including links to the docket report and complaint.
- CAS 3:2018cv02736 — Buckovetz v. Department of the Navy
- May 7, 2020: ORDER Granting [34] Defendant's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction. Signed by Magistrate Judge Mitchell D. Dembin on 5/7/2020. (All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service)(mme)
CALLIMACHI v. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY and 7 other new FOIA lawsuits, plus case descriptions
We have added 96 documents from 8 FOIA cases filed between April 26, 2020 and May 2, 2020. 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.
- CALLIMACHI v. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (filed Apr 29, 2020)
Rukmini Callimachi, an investigative reporter for the New York Times, submitted six FOIA requests to the CIA for records concerning her stepfather, Mihail Horia Botez. Callimachi’s requests also asked for records on various individuals who had worked in the Romanian communist government. The agency eventually acknowledged receipt of all the requests but after hearing nothing further from the agency, Callimachi filed suit read more…
We have added 15 decisions of a procedural or substantive nature filed between April 26, 2020 and May 2, 2020. These are associated with 13 FOIA cases pending in federal district court. Note that because there can be delays between the date a decision is made and when it shows up on PACER, this listing includes only decisions that appeared on PACER during this period.
Click on the date to view the full text of the decision. Click on a case title below to view other details for that case, including links to the docket report and complaint.
- CAE 2:2019cv02429 — (PS) Graham v. U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security et al
- April 30, 2020: ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 4/30/2020 GRANTING [11] Motion for extension of time. Motion to Dismiss [10] Hearing Reset for 6/3/2020 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 8 (EFB) before Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan. Plaintiff shall file an opposition to the pending motion, or a statement of non-opposition by 5/20/2020. Defendant's reply due by 5/27/2020. The Initial Scheduling Conference is Reset for 8/5/2020 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 8 (EFB) before Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan.(Reader, L)
WP COMPANY LLC v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE and 11 other new FOIA lawsuits, plus case descriptions
We have added 50 documents from 8 FOIA cases filed between April 19, 2020 and April 25, 2020. 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.
- WP COMPANY LLC v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE (filed Apr 24, 2020)
The Washington Post submitted a FOIA request to the Department of State for two cables sent from the U.S. Mission in China about former counselor of Environment, Science, Technology and Health Brian “Rick” Switzer’s visit to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The Washington Post also requested expedited processing read more…
We have added 9 decisions of a procedural or substantive nature filed between April 19, 2020 and April 25, 2020. These are associated with 8 FOIA cases pending in federal district court. Note that because there can be delays between the date a decision is made and when it shows up on PACER, this listing includes only decisions that appeared on PACER during this period.
Click on the date to view the full text of the decision. Click on a case title below to view other details for that case, including links to the docket report and complaint.
- CAS 3:2017cv01612 — Reyes v. United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs et al
- April 20, 2020: ORDER Directing Defendants to Lodge Materials for in Camera Review. Defendants shall lodge the materials withheld for in camera review on or before April 30, 2020. Signed by Judge John A. Houston on 4/20/2020. (All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service) (tcf)
We have added 162 documents from 22 FOIA cases filed between April 12, 2020 and April 18, 2020. 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.
- KING v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY et al (filed Apr 16, 2020)
Peter King, a documentary filmmaker, submitted a FOIA request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for records concerning an audio recording referred to in an August 2003 memo of an informant pertaining to a murder investigation. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request. The agency issued a Glomar response neither confirming nor denying the existence of records on the basis of Exemption 7(C) (invasion of privacy concerning law enforcement records) read more…
We have added 10 decisions of a procedural or substantive nature filed between April 12, 2020 and April 18, 2020. These are associated with 9 FOIA cases pending in federal district court. Note that because there can be delays between the date a decision is made and when it shows up on PACER, this listing includes only decisions that appeared on PACER during this period.
Click on the date to view the full text of the decision. Click on a case title below to view other details for that case, including links to the docket report and complaint.
- CAN 3:2019cv05935 — LegalForce RAPC Worldwide P.C. v. United States Patent & Trademark Office
- April 16, 2020: ORDER GRANTING [23] SUMMARY JUDGMENT. SIGNED BY JUDGE ALSUP. (whalc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/16/2020)
During the month of March 2020 federal district courts saw a total of 57 new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits filed under 5 U.S.C. 552. To place this number in perspective, 57 new filings compares with a monthly average of 71 filings during the last 12 months. This month’s total brought overall FOIA filings on an annual basis for these last 12 months to 853.
The figure below provides a more detailed view of monthly trends during the past five years. The height of each bar reflects the number of filings in that month. To see the actual filing count mouse over any bar. The superimposed line over the bars is the moving 12-month average. It is computed by adding up the 12 months ending at a given month, and then dividing that total by 12 to obtain the monthly average over this period. Mousing over any bar also shows the calculated result for this moving average for that given month.
read more…
FOIA previously reported that recently a Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson inaccurately claimed that FOIA applicants are now quicker to litigate, then blamed overly-litigious requesters for straining the workloads of FOIA professionals and bogging down ordinary citizens’ FOIA requests. These claims directly contradicted the FOIA Project’s findings that litigants were, in fact, waiting longer to litigate. TRAC submitted a FOIA request on March 16 asking for documentation substantiating the DOJ’s claims. We requested any records in the Department’s possession that provided support for this statement, as well as any concrete statistics on the number of days between requests, responses (where any had occurred), and when suits were filed that would document the actual lawsuit filing behavior of requesters.
In a letter dated April 13, the agency replied that it had conducted a search and could find no data or other statistics concerning whether or not FOIA requesters were rushing into court.
The letter went on to assert that to the extent our request was for any agency records that would support the spokesperson’s statement, our request did not require a response because the records weren’t “reasonably described.” The letter did say it would search for “specific records utilized in preparing” the actual statement but that it needed more time to “search in and/or [for] consultation with another Office.”
The March 12, 2020, Sunshine Week event was intended to celebrate the Freedom of Information Act. Instead, the spokesperson for the Department of Justice used the event to use unsubstantiated claims to justify the disparagement of FOIA requesters. The spokesperson, Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Claire Murray, claimed that FOIA requesters were bringing lawsuits “nearly immediate[ly].”
This claim contradicts TRAC’s study that found that not only were requesters not jumping into court immediately, requesters were actually waiting on average six months—a full month longer than they had five years ago—before filing a FOIA lawsuit. Equally concerning is how the unsubstantiated and counterfactual claim was used to sow unnecessary division between, on the one hand, citizens who seek remedy in court when the government fails to comply with the law, and, on the other, government staff and “ordinary citizens.”
Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Claire Murray oversees the Office of Information Policy. Because of the important role that the OIP plays, it is incumbent on her to speak truthfully about FOIA practices. When we celebrate Sunshine Week, one would hope public statements about FOIA practices are amply supported by the evidence, particularly statements that cast aspersions upon groups of FOIA requesters and sow unnecessary division between members of the public and between the public and government professionals.
The FOIA Project exists to provide detailed, fact-based insight about the government’s handling of FOIA requests and to make this data available to the public and to government agencies alike. The value of the FOIA Project’s research is illustrated by our ability to publish timely research, which can be used to identify inaccuracies and clarify misperceptions such as those above.
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