Court Decisions Overview
Each year the federal courts issue hundreds of decisions in FOIA cases, addressing all aspects of the law. These decisions shape the way the law is interpreted and applied by the many attorneys and access professionals across the government who handle FOIA requests, administrative appeals, and litigation. To aid those professionals, and to facilitate greater understanding of the FOIA overall, OIP posts summaries of FOIA decisions to this website.
Although we have designed these summaries to reflect the key aspects of each decision, by their nature these are summaries only, and such things as internal citations and quotations have been omitted. Our goal is to provide readers with an overview of the cases as they are decided during the year, but for a complete understanding of any given case readers are, of course, encouraged to read it in its entirety.
Using the Court Decisions Page
This website includes decisions decided since January 2013. Summaries of decisions decided between May 2009 and December 2012 are available in the Court Decisions Archive. All decisions are presented chronologically, based on the date of issuance, with the most recent decision appearing first. Each decision is tagged topically with the relevant exemption or procedural consideration addressed.
You can view all decisions tagged with a particular topic or court by using the “Topic” drop down menu. For example, to see all cases where Exemption 5 is addressed, select “Exemption 5.”
You can search through each decision summary for keywords or phrases using the “Keyword Search” feature. For example, to see all cases with a particular term, such as “e-mail” or “affirming,” you can type in the term or phrase to retrieve all court decision summaries where it appears. You can also use this feature to locate decisions from a particular court by searching for the court acronym, such as “D.C. Cir” for all decisions from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
LatinoJustice PRLDEF v. Dep’t of the Treasury, No. 19-4417, 2024 WL 965653 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 5, 2024) (Oetken, J.)
LatinoJustice PRLDEF v. Dep’t of the Treasury, No. 19-4417, 2024 WL 965653 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 5, 2024) (Oetken, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning candidates who were considered for appointment to Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment
- Litigation...
Phillips v. DHS, No. 19-0928, 2024 WL 1239704 (D.D.C. Mar. 22, 2024) (Nichols, J.)
Phillips v. DHS, No. 19-0928, 2024 WL 1239704 (D.D.C. Mar. 22, 2024) (Nichols, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning treatment of alien minors in government detention facilities
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Procedural Requirements, “Reasonably Segregable” Obligation: The court relates that “[t]he only remaining issue in this FOIA case is whether the...
Hettena v. CIA, No. 22-877, 2024 WL 1239705 (D.D.C. Mar. 22, 2024) (Boasberg, C.J.)
Hettena v. CIA, No. 22-877, 2024 WL 1239705 (D.D.C. Mar. 22, 2024) (Boasberg, C.J.)
Re: Request for records concerning CIA Inspector General’s November 2005 report following investigation of death of Iraqi national while in CIA custody
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 1: The court “finds that CIA...
Christensen, Jr. v. Nat’l Ctr. for Missing & Exploited Child., No. 23-97, 2024 WL 1242495 (W.D. Okla. Mar. 22, 2024) (DeGiusti, J.)
Christensen, Jr. v. Nat’l Ctr. for Missing & Exploited Child., No. 23-97, 2024 WL 1242495 (W.D. Okla. Mar. 22, 2024) (DeGiusti, J.)
Re: Request for certain images involved in plaintiff’s criminal case
Disposition: Adopting magistrate judge’s report and recommendation; granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: “[T]he Court...
Project on Gov’t Oversight, Inc. v. U.S. Off. of Special Couns., No. 22-3381, 2024 WL 1213324 (D.D.C. Mar. 19, 2024) (Friedrich, J.)
Project on Gov’t Oversight, Inc. v. U.S. Off. of Special Couns., No. 22-3381, 2024 WL 1213324 (D.D.C. Mar. 19, 2024) (Friedrich, J.)
Re: Request for certain records concerning investigation of several Trump administration officials
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 7(C): The court relates that “...
Castillo v. CBP, No. 23-3110, 2024 WL 2024 WL 1182865 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 19, 2024) (Seeborg, C.J.)
Castillo v. CBP, No. 23-3110, 2024 WL 2024 WL 1182865 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 19, 2024) (Seeborg, C.J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees and costs
- Attorney Fees, Eligibility: The court holds that “[plaintiff] has not established he is eligible to recover fees here because nothing suggests he obtained relief through any...
Def. of Freedom Inst. for Pol’y Stud., Inc. v. Dep’t of Educ., No. 23-1695, 2024 WL 1174607 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 19, 2024) (Byron, J.)
Def. of Freedom Inst. for Pol’y Stud., Inc. v. Dep’t of Educ., No. 23-1695, 2024 WL 1174607 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 19, 2024) (Byron, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning Desegregation of Public Education program
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss for improper venue; directing Clerk of Court to transfer case to the District Court for the District of Columbia
- Litigation...
Cheng v. DOJ, No. 23-3983, 2024 WL 1178986 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 19, 2024) (Torres, J.)
Cheng v. DOJ, No. 23-3983, 2024 WL 1178986 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 19, 2024) (Torres, J.)
Re: Request for “all unclassified documents that former President Donald J. Trump took to his Mar-a-Lago residence from the White House”
Disposition: Adopting magistrate judge’s report and recommendation; denying defendant’s motion to dismiss case as moot
- Litigation Considerations: The court relates that “...
Am. Fed’n of Gov’t Emps. Loc. 527 v. ICE, No. 21-21992, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47184 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 18, 2024) (Moore, J.)
Am. Fed’n of Gov’t Emps. Loc. 527 v. ICE, No. 21-21992, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47184 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 18, 2024) (Moore, J.)
Re: Request for current Office of Professional Responsibility Investigative Guidebook
Disposition: Adopting magistrate judge’s report and recommendation; granting defendant’s renewed motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s renewed cross-motion for summary...
Ctr. for Inquiry, Inc. v. HHS, No. 21-3118, 2024 WL 1111299 (D.D.C. Mar. 14, 2024) (Boasberg, C.J.)
Ctr. for Inquiry, Inc. v. HHS, No. 21-3118, 2024 WL 1111299 (D.D.C. Mar. 14, 2024) (Boasberg, C.J.)
Re: Request for certain information concerning homeopathic drugs
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendants’ motion for summary judgment; granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search: “Because...