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.
Bennett v. Atascadero State Hosp., No. 25-03738, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 196410 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 31, 2026) (Drozd, J.)
Bennett v. Atascadero State Hosp., No. 25-03738, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 196410 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 31, 2026) (Drozd, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Adopting magistrate judge’s report and recommendations; dismissing action with prejudice
- Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA: The court agrees with the magistrate judge who “concluded that Atascadero State...
Lett v. DOJ, No. 23-3942, 2026 WL 2546295 (D.D.C. Aug. 28, 2026) (Sooknanan, J.)
Lett v. DOJ, No. 23-3942, 2026 WL 2546295 (D.D.C. Aug. 28, 2026) (Sooknanan, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning state and federal criminal prosecutions against plaintiff
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendants’ motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 3: “[T]he Court concludes that the Defendants correctly withheld that document pursuant to FOIA Exemption 3 and/or the Tiahrt...
Wolberg v. FBI, No. 26-01359, 2026 WL 2546845 (D. Or. Aug. 28, 2026) (McShane, J.)
Wolberg v. FBI, No. 26-01359, 2026 WL 2546845 (D. Or. Aug. 28, 2026) (McShane, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Dismissing complaint with prejudice
- Exemption 6; Exemption 7(C): The court relates that “[p]laintiff asserts she seeks disclosure of information pertaining to herself, but also that ‘the records being withheld are protecting a network of corruption and child...
Ctr. for Immigr. Stud. v. USCIS, No. 26-5037, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 26071 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 26, 2026) (per curiam)
Ctr. for Immigr. Stud. v. USCIS, No. 26-5037, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 26071 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 26, 2026) (per curiam)
Re: Request for records concerning demographic information of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status applicants, including their current non-immigration status
Disposition: Affirming district court’s denial of plaintiff’s motion for attorney fees
- Attorney Fees, Eligibility: The Court of...
Child.’s Health Def. v. Nat’l Insts. of Health, No. 23-1016, 2026 WL 2491388 (D.D.C. Aug. 25, 2026) (Kelly, J.)
Child.’s Health Def. v. Nat’l Insts. of Health, No. 23-1016, 2026 WL 2491388 (D.D.C. Aug. 25, 2026) (Kelly, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning reports of adverse symptoms from COVID-19 vaccinations
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment; denying in part plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing...
Kinnucan v. NSA, No. 24-7642, 2026 WL 2472482 (9th Cir. Aug. 24, 2026) (Bress, J.)
Kinnucan v. NSA, No. 24-7642, 2026 WL 2472482 (9th Cir. Aug. 24, 2026) (Bress, J.)
Re: Request for two volumes of House Appropriations Committee report on communications failures that led to incident in which Israeli forces attacked a naval intelligence ship in international waters, which Congress transmitted to NSA, which later referenced Committee report in one of its own reports
Disposition: ...
Env’t Working Grp. v. Food Safety Inspection Serv., No. 23-03806, 2026 WL 2475895 (D.D.C. Aug. 24, 2026) (Mehta, J.)
Env’t Working Grp. v. Food Safety Inspection Serv., No. 23-03806, 2026 WL 2475895 (D.D.C. Aug. 24, 2026) (Mehta, J.)
Re: Request for communications between USDA and outside company containing various search terms related to Brazen Beef labeling
Disposition: Granting defendants’ cross-motion for summary judgment; denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment
- Exemption 4: The court finds that “[t]he...
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...
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...
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...