The FOIA blog

Indigency Not Entitlement For Fee Waiver

A FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Energy has been dismissed because the plaintiff has not paid the fees associated with the request, nor is he entitled to a fee waiver.  These are the reasons given by U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon in dismissing an action against the Department of Energy.  Indigency alone is not a reason for a fee waiver, and as to the fact that the documents may be in the public interest, the plaintiff could not show that he had any means to disseminate the documents.  Thus, the case was tossed out.

Latest Carnival of Open Records

Is here!  A great deal about state and local issues this time.

Judicial Watch Preliminary Injunction Denied

Judicial Watch's motion for a preliminary injunction in a FOIA lawsuit against three agencies (Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and Department of State) for records regarding the immunity and medical treatment given to Mexican drug smuggler Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, who was shot and wounded by U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean in a 2005 drug-related incident has been denied. 

In denying the preliminary injunction, Judge Richard J. Leon of the United States District Court of the District of Columbia found that Judicial Watch did not show that there would be any irreparable harm and that the preliminary injunction would harm the defendants.

As the government has either released the documents at issue or made its withholding decisions, the case should move on to standard summary judgment briefing in the near future.

Coast Guard Issues Directive to Withhold Names of People Saved In Rescue Missions

The Coast Guard has decided to withhold the names of those people saved in rescue missions according to the First Amendment Center.  With the criticism of this decision, I would expect to see lawsuits arising.

I'll Be Speaking at the ASAP Symposium Thursday

I just wanted to let everyone know, I'll be a panelist at the American Society for Access Professional's annual symposium on Thursday afternoon.  I'll be on a panel entitled "FOIA, It's Own Beat."  If your a reader of this blog, feel free to introduce yourself!

Secret Hold on Presidential Records Act

The Senate is trying to override an Executive Order of President Bush that allows ex-Presidents to seal their records indefinitely under the Presidential Records Act.  However, some unknown Senator has placed a secret hold on the legislation according to the Dallas Morning News.

As I said when Arizona Senator Jon Kyl held the FOIA amendments hostage with a similar tactic, secret holds have no place in the American legislative process.  Hopefully, the spineless Senator will speak up, voice his objections and let this matter move on.

DOJ Summary of New Decisions for May 2007

The Department of Justice has now published its summary of new FOIA litigation decisions for May 2007.

Cruise Ship Crime Data Available Through FOIA

Since Tony Kornheiser is on hiatus from his radio program, I don't want this topic to go unnoticed.  (For FOIA blog readers that aren'te loyal Mr. Tony listeners, cruise ship crime is a favorite topic of his).

The FBI has been tracking crimes on cruise ships and recently testified about the findings before Congress.  For those wanting more information on the data, a FOIA request to the FBI is necessary.

Unfortunately, for Mr. Tony fans, it does not appear that any mention of cash payments (hush money) at the end of cruises was discussed.

OGE Publishes Technical Amendments to FOIA Regs

Last month, the Office of Government Ethics ("OGE") published these technical amendments to its FOIA regulations.  Nothing major here, except it does list the phone number to the OGE FOIA Office, which is always a good thing for requesters to have.

FBI Sued by Muslim Groups

A number of Muslim Advocacy Groups, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, has sued the FBI over its failure to locate and release documents under the FOIA.  A complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California according to the A.P.