U.S. Department
of Justice
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.
Crow Creek Sioux Tribe v. BIA Off. of Just. Servs., No. 24-03015, 2025 WL 2675933 (D.S.D. Sept. 18, 2025) (Schulte, J.)
Crow Creek Sioux Tribe v. BIA Off. of Just. Servs., No. 24-03015, 2025 WL 2675933 (D.S.D. Sept. 18, 2025) (Schulte, J.)
Re: Request for “‘[t]he full budget and any documents relating thereto, for the Crow Creek Agency BIA-OJS Law Enforcement Services for fiscal years 2018-2023’”
Disposition: Awarding $26,674.00 in attorney’s fees
- Attorney Fees, Eligibility: “Because [defendant] communicated no delay...
Polidi v. Mendel, No. 23-2104, 2025 WL 2651301 (4th Cir. Sept. 16, 2025) (per curiam)
Polidi v. Mendel, No. 23-2104, 2025 WL 2651301 (4th Cir. Sept. 16, 2025) (per curiam)
Re: Request for records concerning investigation into and disciplinary records concerning requester
Disposition: Affirming district court’s grant of defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 6; Exemption 7(C); Exemption 5, Deliberative Process Privilege & Attorney Work-Product Privilege; Litigation...
Bourne v. DOJ, No. 24-5182, 2025 WL 2691079 (D.C. Cir. Sept. 19, 2025) (per curiam)
Bourne v. DOJ, No. 24-5182, 2025 WL 2691079 (D.C. Cir. Sept. 19, 2025) (per curiam)
Re: Request for records concerning the requester
Disposition: Granting government’s motion for summary affirmance
- Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing, Adequacy of Search: The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit holds that “the district court correctly concluded that the search conducted...
Smigelski v. FBI, No. 25-01013, 2025 WL 2653819 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 16, 2025) (Jolson, Mag. J.)
Smigelski v. FBI, No. 25-01013, 2025 WL 2653819 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 16, 2025) (Jolson, Mag. J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s complaint
- Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The court finds that “Plaintiff has not alleged any facts to suggest that he exhausted his administrative remedies prior to filing this action.” ...
Brown v. FBI, No. 23-02923, 2025 WL 2651239 (D.D.C. Sept. 16, 2025) (Ali, J.)
Brown v. FBI, No. 23-02923, 2025 WL 2651239 (D.D.C. Sept. 16, 2025) (Ali, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and motion for in camera inspection; granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Adequacy of Search; Procedural Requirements, Searching for Responsive Records...
Azizi v. Noem, No. 24-2959, 2025 WL 2644624 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 15, 2025) (Peterson, Mag. J.)
Azizi v. Noem, No. 24-2959, 2025 WL 2644624 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 15, 2025) (Peterson, Mag. J.)
Re: Request for records concerning “‘aggregate data and statistics related to humanitarian parole applications for Afghanistan citizens and nationals’”
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiffs’ FOIA claims
- Litigation Considerations, Standing: The court relates that “plaintiffs’ counsel submitted [the] FOIA request...
Card v. United States, No. 25-1470, 2025 WL 2622380 (Fed. Cl. Sept. 11, 2025) (Hertling, J.)
Card v. United States, No. 25-1470, 2025 WL 2622380 (Fed. Cl. Sept. 11, 2025) (Hertling, J.)
Re: Several alleged FOIA requests
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s complaint
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings & Jurisdiction: The court relates that “[t]he plaintiff’s complaint also alleges that multiple Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests have been improperly denied.” The court finds that...
Hoffman v. CBP, No. 20-6427, 2025 WL 2618772 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 10, 2025) (Brody, J.)
Hoffman v. CBP, No. 20-6427, 2025 WL 2618772 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 10, 2025) (Brody, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning communications involving CBP personnel at Eagle Pass Port of Entry
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing, Adequacy of Search: The court relates that “[its] prior Order required the Agency to conduct a revised...
Usher v. DOJ, No. 23-2086, 2025 WL 2603615 (D.D.C. Sept. 9, 2025) (Cobb, J.)
Usher v. DOJ, No. 23-2086, 2025 WL 2603615 (D.D.C. Sept. 9, 2025) (Cobb, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Granting plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 3: The court relates that “[t]he Parties’ dispute centers on nine pages of notes that record a cooperating witness’s interview with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).” “As part of that interview...
Zaid v. DHS, No. 22-1602, 2025 WL 2592221 (D. Md. Sept. 8, 2025) (Chasanow, J.)
Zaid v. DHS, No. 22-1602, 2025 WL 2592221 (D. Md. Sept. 8, 2025) (Chasanow, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s client
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 7(A): The court relates that “[p]laintiff first argues that ICE’s Vaughn index falls short of the ‘functional categories’ necessary to claim exemption 7(A), because ICE has provided ‘types’ of...