Court Decisions Overview
Each year the federal courts issue hundreds of decisions in FOIA cases, addressing all aspects of the law. These decisions shape the way the law is interpreted and applied by the many attorneys and access professionals across the government who handle FOIA requests, administrative appeals, and litigation. To aid those professionals, and to facilitate greater understanding of the FOIA overall, OIP posts summaries of FOIA decisions to this website.
Although we have designed these summaries to reflect the key aspects of each decision, by their nature these are summaries only, and such things as internal citations and quotations have been omitted. Our goal is to provide readers with an overview of the cases as they are decided during the year, but for a complete understanding of any given case readers are, of course, encouraged to read it in its entirety.
Using the Court Decisions Page
This website includes decisions decided since January 2013. Summaries of decisions decided between May 2009 and December 2012 are available in the Court Decisions Archive. All decisions are presented chronologically, based on the date of issuance, with the most recent decision appearing first. Each decision is tagged topically with the relevant exemption or procedural consideration addressed.
You can view all decisions tagged with a particular topic or court by using the “Topic” drop down menu. For example, to see all cases where Exemption 5 is addressed, select “Exemption 5.”
You can search through each decision summary for keywords or phrases using the “Keyword Search” feature. For example, to see all cases with a particular term, such as “e-mail” or “affirming,” you can type in the term or phrase to retrieve all court decision summaries where it appears. You can also use this feature to locate decisions from a particular court by searching for the court acronym, such as “D.C. Cir” for all decisions from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Radar Online LLC v. FBI, No. 17-3956, 2024 WL 3161777 (S.D.N.Y. June 25, 2024) (Gardephe, J.)
Radar Online LLC v. FBI, No. 17-3956, 2024 WL 3161777 (S.D.N.Y. June 25, 2024) (Gardephe, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning FBI’s investigation and prosecution of financier Jeffrey Epstein for child sex trafficking crimes
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiffs’ cross-motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 7(A): “[The] Court concludes that...
Mayor & City Council of Baltimore v. ATF, No. 23-3762, 2024 WL 3082271 (D.D.C. June 21, 2024) (Moss, J.)
Mayor & City Council of Baltimore v. ATF, No. 23-3762, 2024 WL 3082271 (D.D.C. June 21, 2024) (Moss, J.)
Re: Request for certain firearm trace records from ATF’s National Tracing Center’s Firearms Tracing System to identify sources of guns recovered from crimes committed in Baltimore
Disposition: Denying third party’s renewed motion to intervene as of right; denying third party’s renewed...
Nat’l Pub. Radio v. U.S. Cent. Command, No. 23-55062, 2024 WL 3066048 (9th Cir. June 20, 2024) (per curiam)
Nat’l Pub. Radio v. U.S. Cent. Command, No. 23-55062, 2024 WL 3066048 (9th Cir. June 20, 2024) (per curiam)
Re: Request for records concerning 2004 friendly-fire incident during Iraq War that resulted in death of two Marines and an Iraqi civilian interpreter, as well as numerous casualties
Disposition: Reversing in part and affirming in part district court’s grant of government’s motion...
Assassination Archives & Rsch. Ctr. v. DOJ, No. 23-5004, 2024 WL 3042700 (D.C. Cir. June 18, 2024) (per curiam)
Assassination Archives & Rsch. Ctr. v. DOJ, No. 23-5004, 2024 WL 3042700 (D.C. Cir. June 18, 2024) (per curiam)
Re: Request for records concerning pre-1960 electronic surveillance activities from the FBI
Disposition: Affirming district court’s grant of government’s motion to dismiss
- Litigation Considerations: The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit relates that “[o]n...
Malone v. U.S. Pat. & Trademark Off., No. 23-1050, 2024 WL 3030650 (E.D. Va. June 17, 2024) (Hilton, J.)
Malone v. U.S. Pat. & Trademark Off., No. 23-1050, 2024 WL 3030650 (E.D. Va. June 17, 2024) (Hilton, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning paneling procedures for an Inter Partes Review (“IPR”) proceeding that was pending before USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”), as well as request for records concerning information about potential conflicts of interest of the Administrative...
Heineman v. Hinds, No. 23-00448, 2024 WL 3047562 (D. Nev. June 17, 2024) (Dorsey, J.)
Heineman v. Hinds, No. 23-00448, 2024 WL 3047562 (D. Nev. June 17, 2024) (Dorsey, J.)
Re: Request for grand jury documents from plaintiff’s criminal prosecution
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The court finds that, “[a]s the defendants correctly point out, [plaintiff] has targeted the wrong defendants with this lawsuit.” “In...
Sieverding v. United States¸ No. 22-198, 2024 WL 2941737 (D.N.H. June 11, 2024) (Elliott, J.)
Sieverding v. United States¸ No. 22-198, 2024 WL 2941737 (D.N.H. June 11, 2024) (Elliott, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 5, Deliberative Process Privilege & Attorney Work-Product Privilege: The court holds that “[b]ecause the DOJ properly withheld all seven responsive pages under Exemption 5, the...
Nat’l Sec. Archive v. CIA, No. 23-5017, 2024 WL 2872953 (D.C. Cir. June 7, 2024) (Childs, J.)
Nat’l Sec. Archive v. CIA, No. 23-5017, 2024 WL 2872953 (D.C. Cir. June 7, 2024) (Childs, J.)
Re: Request for 1989 memorandum documenting unaddressed “‘analytical problem’” for U.S. Intelligence Community written by former Director of Defense Intelligence Agency, Lieutenant General Leonard Perroots
Disposition: Affirming district court’s grant of government’s motion for summary judgment
...Hum Rts. Def. Ctr. v. DOJ, No. 20-00674, 2024 WL 2882208 (W.D. Wash. June 7, 2024) (Chun, J.)
Hum Rts. Def. Ctr. v. DOJ, No. 20-00674, 2024 WL 2882208 (W.D. Wash. June 7, 2024) (Chun, J.)
Re: Request for records of claims against DEA that DEA resolved through payment of settlement or judgment
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment; granting plaintiff’s motion for attorneys’ fees
- Exemption 6: “After in...
Savage v. DOJ, No. 22-2477, 2024 WL 2880438 (D.D.C. June 7, 2024) (Boasberg, C.J.)
Savage v. DOJ, No. 22-2477, 2024 WL 2880438 (D.D.C. June 7, 2024) (Boasberg, C.J.)
Re: Request for FBI interview memoranda as well as reports from former Acting U.S. Attorney John Durham related to the criminal investigation into CIA’s rendition, detention, and interrogation program following 9/11
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment; denying plaintiffs’...