Access / FOIA
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Fifth Circuit Addresses Growing Concern With Overbroad Sealing Practices
Evan M. RiosThe panel addressed a “peripheral-yet-essential point: Judicial records are public records. And public records, by definition, presume public access.”
Court Unseals Government Docs in Prosecutor Misconduct Inquiry
Brian BarrettA New York federal district court ordered the unsealing of government emails, text messages and other documents at the heart of an extraordinary prosecutorial misconduct inquiry involving the elite terrorism and international narcotics unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the SDNY.
D.C. Court of Appeals Rules in Favor of CIA on Syria Program FOIA Request
Jeffrey LightThe appellate court’s “who-knows-for-sure” standard is rhetorically striking and illustrates the virtually unbridled deference courts give to federal agencies in FOIA cases involving national security.
Judge Orders Release Under FOIA of Report on Sexual Abuse of Children at Federal Health Agency
Matthew E. KelleyIn consolidated cases brought by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, a federal magistrate judge has ordered the federal government to make public a contractor’s report about mismanagement at the Indian Health Service that allowed a doctor to sexually abuse children for more than two decades.
SCOTUS Sides with Fish & Wildlife Service in FOIA Battle
Gunita SinghThe Supreme Court held that opinions designated as drafts by an agency are protected from disclosure under Exemption 5 of the federal Freedom of Information Act, even when they serve as an agency’s last word on a proposed course of action.
Access to Courts, Information & Newsgathering Issues in a Pandemic
Katie Townsend, RCFP, and David McCraw and Dana Green, New York Times, discuss newsgathering issues: how access was affected by the crisis, as well as privacy and ethical issues in reporting on COVID-related subjects.
Daily News Obtains Partial Unsealing of Plea and Sentencing Transcripts for Jeffrey Epstein’s Last Cellmate
Matthew LeishJudge Failla partially granted a motion by the Daily News to unseal transcripts and documents related to the plea agreement and sentencing of Efrain Reyes, who gained brief notoriety as the final cellmate of Jeffrey Epstein prior to Epstein’s suicide.
Eighth Circuit Unsealing Decision Leaves a Lot to be Desired
Ross UfbergWhile the opinion was unsealed, the motion to seal which precipitated the recent action was left under seal, and the court did not issue any explanation of its prior thinking or subsequent reversal of course.
Second Circuit: New York Police, Fire Unions Can’t ‘Bargain Away’ Public Records Disclosure Obligations
Madeline LamoA three-judge panel ruled that allegations of misconduct against New York City’s police officers, firefighters and correctional officers could be released to the public.
Second Circuit Strikes Down Connecticut Law Sealing Judicial Records in Juvenile Felony Cases Transferred to Adult Criminal Court
Shannon Jankowski and Madeline LamoThe Hartford Courant argued that the law effectively required secret trials for teenagers accused of murder, rape, and other serious crimes, and seriously impeded its ability to inform readers about court proceedings.