FREEDOM OF INFORMATION CASE LIST

MAY 2002 EDITION

The principal component of the Freedom of Information Case List is an alphabetical compi
lation of judicial decisions, both published and unpublished, addressing access issues under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552 (2000), and the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a (2000). Each case in the main case list is categorized according to certain subject matter topics and is assigned a number, from 1 to 4917, by which it is indexed under each such topic in the Topical Index at the end of this volume. Cases can therefore be located both by case name and by particular topic of interest.

This volume supersedes that of September 1998. It includes decisions available electronically on WESTLAW and LEXIS through April 19, 2002, and all slip opinions received by the Office of Information and Privacy by April 19, 2002. Efforts have been made to provide the complete history of each case, including all official and unofficial citations. In a few instances, where no official citation exists, a decision is reported in Prentice-Hall's Government Disclosure Service ("GDS"); such citations are provided in this edition even though that unofficial reporter has been discontin ued. Only decisions of precedential significance are included, and it must be remembered that all cases are listed under the plaintiff's name as originally filed. It also should be noted that, as this publication is designed to be a reference guide only, the citations used are not necessarily in official "Bluebook" form.

The main case list of this volume has been restricted to FOIA cases and to those Privacy Act cases that address comparable access issues. Separate lists of cases arising under the Government in the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552b (2000), and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. (2000), appear after the main case list. There is also a separate list of all Privacy Act cases (in volving access and nonaccess issues alike), which contains Privacy Act subject matter topics. Addi tionally, a separate list of all "reverse" FOIA cases and an "overview" list of selected FOIA decisions are provided.

Also contained in this volume are the full texts of each of these federal access statutes and an updated list of related law review articles. The "Justice Department Guide to the Freedom of Infor mation Act," formerly contained in this volume, is now published biennially as part of a separate vol ume, the Freedom of Information Act Guide & Privacy Act Overview.

This edition of the Freedom of Information Case List was prepared by Pamela Maida, with the assistance of law clerks Jennifer H. Ashworth and Reagan L. Griffin. Additional copies are available through the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washing ton, D.C. 20402.