2011 FOIA Litigation and Compliance Report Issued

Each year, the Department of Justice submits a report to Congress containing a description of its efforts to encourage agency compliance with the FOIA.  This report, known as the FOIA Litigation and Compliance Report, describes various aspects of FOIA administration at the department, including the guidance issued, training conducted, and counseling services provided by OIP. In 2011, the department’s efforts once again focused on the implementation of President Obama’s Memorandum on the FOIA and Attorney General Holder’s FOIA Guidelines.  This included the issuing of new procedures designed to maximize efficiency and accountability in the FOIA referral and consultation process, as well as training sessions for agency personnel on this topic. Additionally, the 2011 report also looks at the launch and continued expansion of FOIA.gov, the department’s government-wide comprehensive FOIA website.  Since launching during Sunshine Week 2011, FOIA.gov has revolutionized how FOIA data is accessed and used by the public. It has become a valuable educational resource for anyone interested in the FOIA process and considering whether to make a FOIA request.  The department began expanding and updating FOIA.gov almost immediately after launch, and these efforts continue with the addition of the ‘Find’ feature, which searches across all agency websites by topic, and the inclusion of over one hundred links to agency online request forms. Finally, this report includes lists of FOIA litigation cases brought and decided in 2011.  The list of decisions from 2011 includes the exemptions at issue in each case and a notation if any fees were assessed as a result of the litigation. We encourage you to review the department’s many efforts to encourage compliance with the FOIA and implement the Attorney Generals Guidelines in detail in our 2011 report, which can be viewed alongside past years reports on the Reports page of our site.