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.
Stevens v. CBP, No. 25-2719, 2026 WL 2056856 (N.D. Ill. July 16, 2026) (Kennelly, J.)
Stevens v. CBP, No. 25-2719, 2026 WL 2056856 (N.D. Ill. July 16, 2026) (Kennelly, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning third party
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
- Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing, Adequacy of Search: “The Court begins with a...
Carey, Jr. v. DOJ, No. 22-1527, 2026 WL 2056903 (D.D.C. July 16, 2026) (Cobb, J.)
Carey, Jr. v. DOJ, No. 22-1527, 2026 WL 2056903 (D.D.C. July 16, 2026) (Cobb, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff or plaintiff’s deceased uncle
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Summary Judgment: “Because [Plaintiff] no longer ‘tak[es] issue with [DHS’s] decision to withhold or to redact documents,’ the...
Lusk v. Merchant, No. 23-6059, 2026 WL 2023810 (4th Cir. July 14, 2026) (Wynn, J.)
Lusk v. Merchant, No. 23-6059, 2026 WL 2023810 (4th Cir. July 14, 2026) (Wynn, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning incident involving requester
Disposition: Affirming district court’s dismissal of requester’s FOIA claim
- Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit finds that “[t]he magistrate judge and district court concluded that...
Fitch v. DOJ, No. 26-5138, 2026 WL 2045004 (S.D. Tex. July 14, 2026) (Hittner, J.)
Fitch v. DOJ, No. 26-5138, 2026 WL 2045004 (S.D. Tex. July 14, 2026) (Hittner, J.)
Re: Request for certain attorney log-in records from county jail
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s action without prejudice
- Litigation Considerations: The court relates that “[Plaintiff] is incarcerated, so his action is governed by the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), which was enacted, in part, to prevent...
Pollack v. DOJ, No. 25-00108, 2026 WL 2019971 (W.D. Va. July 13, 2026) (Yoon, J.)
Pollack v. DOJ, No. 25-00108, 2026 WL 2019971 (W.D. Va. July 13, 2026) (Yoon, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning government investigations in Page County, Virginia in early 2000s
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion to dismiss
- Litigation Considerations, Statute of Limitations: The court finds that “[e]ven if [Plaintiff’s] email to the USAO on January 13, 2012, was a proper FOIA request, ....
Hausman v. ICE, No. 26-03730, 2026 WL 2031776 (N.D. Cal. July 13, 2026) (Martinez-Olguin, J.)
Hausman v. ICE, No. 26-03730, 2026 WL 2031776 (N.D. Cal. July 13, 2026) (Martinez-Olguin, J.)
Re: Request for fourteen years of ICE enforcement data
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction
- Litigation Considerations, Preliminary Injunctions: “[G]iven the lack of an imminent, irreparable harm that would result from the absence of the injunctive relief sought, the Court must...
Borowski v. CBP, No. 23-00257, 2026 WL 2017988 (W.D.N.Y. July 13, 2026) (Wolford, J.)
Borowski v. CBP, No. 23-00257, 2026 WL 2017988 (W.D.N.Y. July 13, 2026) (Wolford, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff’s membership in the expedited border processing program NEXUS
Disposition: Granting defendant’s second-renewed motion for partial summary judgment
- Exemption 5, Deliberative Process Privilege & Foreseeable Harm and Other Considerations: The court relates that “[i]n the...
Afr. Immigrant Rts. Council v. USCIS, No. 24-02584, 2026 WL 2017274 (D. Md. July 13, 2026) (Griggsby, J.)
Afr. Immigrant Rts. Council v. USCIS, No. 24-02584, 2026 WL 2017274 (D. Md. July 13, 2026) (Griggsby, J.)
Re: Request for records including “revised guidance” document previously ordered to be produced by court
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part plaintiff’s renewed motion for attorney’s fees and costs; awarding plaintiff costs in amount of $402.00
- Attorney Fees, Calculations: “On...
Stevens v. Dep’t of the Army, No. 25-5144, 2026 WL 1971989 (N.D. Ill. July 8, 2026) (Kennelly, J.)
Stevens v. Dep’t of the Army, No. 25-5144, 2026 WL 1971989 (N.D. Ill. July 8, 2026) (Kennelly, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning proposal by Northwestern University to expand its campus into Lake Michigan in 1960s
Disposition: Denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment; granting in part and deferring in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary...
Parra v. United States, No. 25-2624, 2026 WL 2033837 (S.D.N.Y. July 8, 2026) (Stanton, J.)
Parra v. United States, No. 25-2624, 2026 WL 2033837 (S.D.N.Y. July 8, 2026) (Stanton, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s claim
- Litigation Considerations, Venue: The court finds that “[c]laims brought under FOIA must be brought in a federal district court for the judicial district in which ‘the complainant resides, or has his principal place of...