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.
Sharpe v. Dep’t of the Navy, No. 25-01911, 2026 WL 2454257 (D.D.C. Aug. 21, 2026) (McFadden, J.)
Sharpe v. Dep’t of the Navy, No. 25-01911, 2026 WL 2454257 (D.D.C. Aug. 21, 2026) (McFadden, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning apparent change to U.S. Naval Academy’s policy for providing copies of certain investigative reports to counsel for accused midshipmen
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
Exemption 5, Attorney Work-Product, Deliberative Process Privilege...
Nat’l Pub. Radio, Inc. v. U.S. Agency for Glob. Media, No. 25-02965, 2026 WL 2454311 (D.D.C. Aug. 21, 2026) (McFadden, J.)
Nat’l Pub. Radio, Inc. v. U.S. Agency for Glob. Media, No. 25-02965, 2026 WL 2454311 (D.D.C. Aug. 21, 2026) (McFadden, J.)
Re: Request for report confirming compliance with executive order directing U.S. Agency for Global Media to reduce operations
Disposition: Granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 5, Deliberative Process Privilege & Foreseeable Harm and Other Considerations: Th...
Toalepai v. VA, No. 25-04052, 2026 WL 2453411 (D. Md. Aug. 21, 2026) (Gallagher, J.)
Toalepai v. VA, No. 25-04052, 2026 WL 2453411 (D. Md. Aug. 21, 2026) (Gallagher, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning application to assume plaintiff’s VA-backed loan
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss; denying remainder of defendant’s motion
- Litigation Considerations, Venue: The court finds that “[t]he parties agree that Plaintiff could have brought suit in the District of...
Secret v. FBI, No. 20-2175, 2026 WL 2449432 (D.D.C. Aug. 20, 2026) (Cobb, J.)
Secret v. FBI, No. 20-2175, 2026 WL 2449432 (D.D.C. Aug. 20, 2026) (Cobb, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning regarding deceased Ferguson, Missouri racial-justice activist
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment; granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 5, Deliberative Process Privilege, Attorney Work...
Johnson v. Dep’t of Corr., No. 25-1308, 2026 WL 2445275 (D. Conn. Aug. 20, 2026) (Nagala, J.)
Johnson v. Dep’t of Corr., No. 25-1308, 2026 WL 2445275 (D. Conn. Aug. 20, 2026) (Nagala, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s legal mail
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s FOIA claim
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: The court relates that “[p]laintiff complains that he was not able to obtain documents or video footage due to [d]efendants’ noncompliance with the...
Schmeling v. FBI, No. 25-1242, 2026 WL 2428214 (D.D.C. Aug. 19, 2026) (Chutkan, J.)
Schmeling v. FBI, No. 25-1242, 2026 WL 2428214 (D.D.C. Aug. 19, 2026) (Chutkan, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s criminal case
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Procedural Requirements, FOIA Requesters: The court finds that “the record demonstrates that [p]laintiff ‘knowingly and voluntarily waived his FOIA rights when he signed the plea agreement.’” ...
Leopold v. U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, No. 17-01524, 2026 WL 2445386 (D.D.C. Aug. 19, 2026) (Mehta, J.)
Leopold v. U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, No. 17-01524, 2026 WL 2445386 (D.D.C. Aug. 19, 2026) (Mehta, J.)
Re: Requests for records concerning request made by Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service to Treasury for certain information about U.S. persons
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part plaintiffs’ motion for attorney fees and costs; awarding plaintiffs $26,285.81
- Attorney Fees...
Salaiz v. NARA, No. 25-00307, 2026 WL 2414758 (W.D. Tex. Aug. 18, 2026) (Schydlower, J.)
Salaiz v. NARA, No. 25-00307, 2026 WL 2414758 (W.D. Tex. Aug. 18, 2026) (Schydlower, J.)
Re: Request for two copies of Zapruder film depicting assassination of President John F. Kennedy
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s claim
- Proactive Disclosures; Litigation Considerations, Standing: The court finds that “NARA has not challenged Plaintiff’s standing, but federal courts ‘have an independent...
Becker v. Dep’t of the Navy, No. 24-152, 2026 WL 2350079 (D.D.C. Aug. 13, 2026) (Boasberg, C.J.)
Becker v. Dep’t of the Navy, No. 24-152, 2026 WL 2350079 (D.D.C. Aug. 13, 2026) (Boasberg, C.J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s international homicide case
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment; granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment
- Waiver and Discretionary Disclosure, Waiver: “The Court...
Rodriguez v. FTC, No. 25-2401, 2026 WL 2349862 (D.D.C. Aug. 13, 2026) (Alikhan, J.)
Rodriguez v. FTC, No. 25-2401, 2026 WL 2349862 (D.D.C. Aug. 13, 2026) (Alikhan, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff, as well as several large social media companies
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment; granting plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment
- Fees and Fee Waivers, Fee Waivers: The court notes that “[t]he parties agree that [plaintiff’s] requested...