Kanam v. Office of Benton Peterson, No. 20-5001, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 17357 (D.C. Cir. June 2, 2020) (per curiam)

Kanam v. Office of Benton Peterson, No. 20-5001, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 17357 (D.C. Cir. June 2, 2020) (per curiam)

Re:  Request for all documents published in Federal Register which support or refute various arguments Assistant United States Attorney made in motion to dismiss in another case

Disposition:  Granting government's motion for summary affirmance, and denying requester's motion for summary reversal of district court's grant of government's motion to dismiss

• Procedural Requirements, Proper FOIA Requests & Litigation Considerations, Vaughn Index/Declaration:  The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit holds that "[the requester] did not submit a request to which the Department of Justice was required to respond under the [FOIA]."  The district court previously held that "[the requester], failed to follow the 'published rules . . . and procedures' governing the submission of FOIA requests to the Department of Justice by mailing a FOIA request to an individual DOJ attorney."  Here, the court also holds that "[b]ecause [the requester] did not submit a proper FOIA request, [the government] is not required to produce a Vaughn index."