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.
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
...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’...
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...
Brown v. FBI, No. 23-5244, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 13858 (D.C. Cir. June 6, 2024) (per curiam)
Brown v. FBI, No. 23-5244, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 13858 (D.C. Cir. June 6, 2024) (per curiam)
Re: Request for records concerning incident which occurred on December 2, 2015 at Inland Regional Center in San Bernadino, CA
Disposition: Denying government’s motion for summary affirmance of district court’s grant of government’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations: The Court...
Project for Priv. & Surveillance Accountability, Inc. v. DOJ, No. 21-2362, 2024 WL 2864191 (D.D.C. June 6, 2024) (Contreras, J.)
Project for Priv. & Surveillance Accountability, Inc. v. DOJ, No. 21-2362, 2024 WL 2864191 (D.D.C. June 6, 2024) (Contreras, J.)
Re: Request for any correspondence between members of Congress and a federal agency concerning the unmasking of Congressmen and Senators
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment
- Exempt...
Williams v. DOJ, No. 23-00401, 2024 WL 2864223 (D.D.C. June 6, 2024) (Reyes, J.)
Williams v. DOJ, No. 23-00401, 2024 WL 2864223 (D.D.C. June 6, 2024) (Reyes, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s criminal case
Disposition: Granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 6; Exemption 7, Threshold; Exemption 7(C): “[T]he Court finds that USMS has justified its Glomar response under...
Stalcup v. DOD, No. 22-1405, 2024 WL 2871046 (1st Cir. June 4, 2024) (per curiam)
Stalcup v. DOD, No. 22-1405, 2024 WL 2871046 (1st Cir. June 4, 2024) (per curiam)
Re: Requests for records concerning 1996 crash of TWA flight 800 and records concerning missile activity around time of crash
Disposition: Rejecting requester’s challenges to orders denying sanctions and motion to compel; affirming district court’s grant of government’s motion for summary judgment; vacating...
Peter T.R. v. O’Malley, No. 19-04160, 2024 WL 2797047 (C.D. Ill. May 31, 2024) (Darrow, C.J.)
Peter T.R. v. O’Malley, No. 19-04160, 2024 WL 2797047 (C.D. Ill. May 31, 2024) (Darrow, C.J.)
Re: Request for records concerning overpayment to plaintiff from SSA
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Mootness and Other Grounds for Dismissal: The court holds that “[t]he SSA has since given [plaintiff] the documents he requested, such...
Biear v. U.S. DOJ Eric Holder, No. 14-1488, 2024 WL 2805127 (M.D. Pa. May 31, 2024) (Mariani, J.)
Biear v. U.S. DOJ Eric Holder, No. 14-1488, 2024 WL 2805127 (M.D. Pa. May 31, 2024) (Mariani, J.)
Re: Requests for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion to reopen case
- Litigation Considerations: The court holds that “[t]he record is clear that Plaintiff was provided with all documents required by Court Order as of April 4, 2024.” “The Court has also...
Cohodes v. DOJ, No. 20-04015, 2024 WL 2701618 (N.D. Cal. May 23, 2024) (Beeler, Mag. J.)
Cohodes v. DOJ, No. 20-04015, 2024 WL 2701618 (N.D. Cal. May 23, 2024) (Beeler, Mag. J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Ordering disclosure of several items of information in records submitted for in camera inspection
- Exemption 6; Exemption 7(C): The court concludes that “the government must produce the following information that it redacted: (1) the name of...