Wilson v. DOJ, No. 13-2053, 2014 WL 2115508 (D.D.C. May 21, 2014) (Boasberg, J.)

Wilson v. DOJ, No. 13-2053, 2014 WL 2115508 (D.D.C. May 21, 2014) (Boasberg, J.)

Re: Request for records concerning conversation between confidential source and third party related to plaintiff's criminal trial

Disposition: Denying defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Exemption 7(C):  The court "denies summary judgment and will allow [plaintiff's] case to proceed."  The court finds that "[i]t is already public knowledge that [the third party] was captured on the recording, thanks to DOJ's own prior disclosures."  Additionally, the court finds that "[i]t is also public knowledge—again, thanks to DOJ's disclosures—that [the informant] served as an informant in [plaintiffs] case."  "As a result, DOJ has already vitiated any privacy interest that [these two individuals] might have had in concealing the tape's existence."  The court holds that "[t]he Department must, at the very least, confirm or deny that it has a copy of the requested recording."  The court notes that the individuals "may indeed have a privacy interest in protecting the content of documents" responsive to the request," however, they "do[] not have a privacy interest in concealing this status or the existence of [these] documents."   The court finds that "moreover, [the third party] passed away some years ago," and "[w]hile that does not extinguish his and his family's privacy interest entirely, it does undermine the Government's Glomar case."