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FOIA Update: Principal FOIA Reference Materials

FOIA Update
Vol. I, No. 1
1979

Principal FOIA Reference Materials

I. Basic References

General and current reference and training materials for administrative personnel and attorneys:

A. REFERENCES FROM G.P.O.

1. Attorney General's Memorandum on the 1974 Amendments to the Freedom of Information Act, February, 1975. Approximately 60 pages. Available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. (Stock number: 027-000-00296-0; price: $90).

2. A Short Guide to the Freedom of Information Act, revision, 1979, Robert L. Saloschin, Thomas C. Newkirk, and Donald J. Gavin. 30 pages. Published as special section in the March, 1979, Freedom of Information Case List. (see next item)

3. The Freedom of Information Case List, March, 1979, Office of Information Law and Policy. Available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. (Stock number: 027-000-00779-1; price: $2.75).

4. A Citizen's Guide on How to Use the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act in Requesting Government Documents, House of Representatives Committee on Government Operations, H.R. Rep. No. 95-793, 95th Cong., 1st Sess. (1977). 59 pages. Available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. (Stock number: 52-071-00540-4; price: $3.00).

5. FOIA Update, a newsletter of information and guidance for federal agencies, issued quarterly or more frequently by the Justice Department's Office of Information Law and Policy (OILP), Room 5259, Washington, D.C. 20530. (not now distributed by G.P.O.)

B. REFERENCES FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR

1. Access Reports. A bi-weekly newsletter on Freedom of Information and Privacy, plus a Reference File. Available from Plus Publications, Inc., Washington, D.C. 20037. It contains summaries of selected recent cases but not the complete text. Subscription rates per year: $169 for the reports, $245 for the reference file; $342 combined price.

2. Davis, Kenneth Culp, "The Freedom of Information Act and Related Legislation" (Chapter 5 of Volume 1 of the second edition of Davis' Administrative Law Treatise). Textual summary of major provisions. Published by K.C. Davis, the University of San Diego, California 92110. Price for the volume is $40.

3. Government Disclosure, a new looseleaf service on Freedom of Information, Privacy, and Government in the Sunshine. Two volumes, with monthly supplements. Available through Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632. Compilation of all agency regulations. Editors plan to note all court decisions after August 1, 1979, and to reprint complete texts of selected decisions before and after that date. Price per year to the Government: $351; includes initial volumes, plus the supplements.

4. Marwick, Christine M., editor, Litigation Under the Amended Federal Freedom of Information Act. The Center for National Security Studies, 4th ed. 1978. Textual summary by lawyers for requesters and valuable appendices with texts of statutes, sample pleadings, table of cases, and index. Published by the Project on National Security and Civil Liberties, 122 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002. (Price is $20; or $6 for non-profit public interest organizations, law students, and law school faculty.)

5. O'Reilly, James T., Federal Information Disclosure: Procedures, Forms and the Law. Shepard's Inc., November, 1979. A looseleaf treatise in two volumes, with supplements. Published by Shepard's Inc., P.O. Box 1235, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80901. The most complete textual analysis available. Price: $80. (Note: the two volume revision will become available at the end of November, 1979.)


II. Advanced References

References designed for more sophisticated research or more specialized uses (listed chronologically):

A. CONGRESSIONAL REFERENCES

1. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Freedom of Information Act Source Book: Legislative Materials, Cases, Articles, S. Doc. No. 93-82, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. (1974). 432 pages on the Act prior to the 1974 Amendments. Available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. (Stock number: 052-070-02303-1; price: $3.65).

2. House of Representatives Committee on Government Operations, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 94th Cong., 1st Sess. (1975), Freedom of Information Act and Amendments of 1974 (P.L. 93-502). 571 pages. Known as the joint source book. Out of print. Available in various law libraries.

3. House of Representatives Committee on Government Operations, H.R. Rep. No. 95-1382, 95th Cong., 2d Sess. (1978), Freedom of Information Act Requests for Business Data and Reverse-FOIA Lawsuits. 67 pages. Available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. (Stock number: 052-071-00571-4; price: $2.00).

B. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REFERENCES

Policy statements or information from the Office of Information Law and Policy (OILP), Department of Justice, Room 5259, Washington, D.C. 20530. (Available at no charge.)

1. "Procedures and Standards on Refusals to Defend FOIA Suits", DOJ-OILP, January 29, 1979.

2. "List of Principal Legal and Administrative Contacts for Freedom of Information Act Questions." Memorandum from Robert L. Saloschin, Director, DOJ-OILP, to all Federal Departments and Agencies; sent to the attention of Principal Legal and Administrative Contacts in federal agencies on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Matters. June 1, 1979.

3. "Policy Guidance: Impact of the Freedom of Information Act Upon the Attorney-Client Relationship in Civil Suits Where a Justice Department Attorney is Assigned to Defend a Federal Employee or Former Federal Employee Against Personal Financial Liability to Pay Damages Arising From His Performance of Work as a Federal Employee." Memorandum from Robert L. Saloschin, Director, DOJ-OILP, to Heads of all Justice Department Components. June 5, 1979.

4. "Policy Guidance: When to Assert the Deliberative Privilege Under FOIA Exemption Five." Memorandum from Robert L. Saloschin, Director, DOJ-OILP, to all Federal Departments and Agencies; sent to the attention of Principal Legal and Administrative Contacts on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Matters. June 6, 1979. (A summary of this paper appears elsewhere in this issue of FOIA Update.)

5. "Statement Concerning The Supreme Court's Decision in Chrysler v. Brown, __ U.S. __.(April 18, 1979)." Memorandum from Robert L. Saloschin, Director, DOJ-OILP, to all Federal Departments and Agencies; sent to the attention of Principal Legal and Administrative Contacts on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Matters. June 15, 1979. (Also includes a statement from former Assistant Attorney General Barbara Allen Babcock on "Current and Future Litigation Under Chrysler v. Brown.")


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Updated August 13, 2014

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