From MuckRock: MuckRock is in the middle a massive project looking into Edward Snowden’s former employer, mega-contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. After reviewing some redactions from responsive contracts received from the FCC, MuckRock’s Michael Morisy was curious about the consultation process on exemption 4 (trade secrets) redactions. So he filed another FOIA for processing notes and emails.
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Read More… from Booz Allen Hamilton and the “trade secrets” FOIA exemption
From NFOIC: A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week. While you're at it, be sure to check out State FOIA Friday Archives.
Minnesota high court: Business not subject to open-records laws
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Read More… from NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for November 22, 2013
From The Washington Times: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must disclose its plans for a so-called Internet “kill switch,” a federal court ruled on Tuesday.
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia rejected the agency’s arguments that its protocols surrounding an Internet kill switch were exempt from public disclosure and ordered the agency to release the records in 30 days. However, the court left the door open for the agency to appeal the ruling.
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Read More… from Homeland Security must disclose ‘Internet Kill Switch,’ court rules
From The Washington Post: The fight by a conservative legal group and Del. Robert Marshall (R-Prince William) to obtain the e-mails written by leading climate change scientist Michael E. Mann while he was at the University of Virginia was shot down by a judge in Prince William County last year. […]
Read More… from Prince William FOIA case on global warming headed for Virginia Supreme Court
From Property Casualty 360: The attorney work-product privilege is one of the three primary privileges incorporated into Exemption 5 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5). It protects materials prepared by an attorney or others in anticipation of litigation, ostensibly shielding materials that would disclose the attorney’s theory of the case or trial strategy. President Lyndon B. Johnson originally signed FOIA into law by on July 4, 1966 and it went into effect the following year.
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Read More… from Opinion: Are pre-denial claims communications admissable in court?
From The Federation of American Scientists: The Central Intelligence Agency tried to make “inappropriate” use of an exemption from the Freedom of Information Act to withhold information that was not subject to the exemption, a federal court ruled last month.
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From Washington Free Beacon: The Department of Justice told top congressional investigators Monday it has not challenged a single instance of a federal agency withholding records from Freedom of Information (FOIA) requestors since 2009.
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Read More… from DOJ hasn’t found one improper FOIA exemption since 2009
From Watchdog.org:
ALEXANDRIA — It’s official. The legislative aides of Virginia’s 140 state senators and delegates have the same protections under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act as their bosses.
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Read More… from VA legislative aides get same FOIA privileges as their bosses
From Federation of American Scientists:
As often happens, the Federal Bureau of Investigation invoked national security a few years ago to justify withholding certain information from a Freedom of Information Act requester named Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler.
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Read More… from Court orders FBI to release information sought in FOIA request
From The Washington Post:
WASHINGTON — Federal appeals court judges Thursday questioned the CIA’s efforts to block information on the use of unmanned drones to kill suspected terrorists.
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Read More… from Appeals court judges seem skeptical of CIA secrecy on drone program
