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. 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...
Bates v. DOJ, No. 25-1277, 2026 WL 1960777 (D.D.C. July 7, 2026) (Berman Jackson, J.)
Bates v. DOJ, No. 25-1277, 2026 WL 1960777 (D.D.C. July 7, 2026) (Berman Jackson, J.)
Re: Request for records “assess[ing] the fiduciary duties of the President of the United States to the American public”
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing, Adequacy of Search: The court finds that “[t]he declarations submitted in this case...
Johnson v. DOJ, No. 25-01181, 2026 WL 1911470 (W.D. Wash. July 2, 2026) (Lin, J.)
Johnson v. DOJ, No. 25-01181, 2026 WL 1911470 (W.D. Wash. July 2, 2026) (Lin, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Dismissing plaintiff’s claim as moot; denying as moot parties’ motions for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Mootness and Other Grounds for Dismissal: The court finds that “[a]lthough ‘failure to timely comply’ is the only claim asserted in the...
Walsh v. DHS, No. 25-03610, 2026 WL 1893638 (D.D.C. July 1, 2026) (McFadden, J.)
Walsh v. DHS, No. 25-03610, 2026 WL 1893638 (D.D.C. July 1, 2026) (McFadden, J.)
Re: Request for “‘a stratified sample of approved L-1 petitions,’ . . . which employers file for foreign employees to temporarily work or train in the United States”
Disposition: Granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment
- Procedural Requirements, Proper FOIA Requests: The court finds that “[f]ollowing [plaintiff...
Tsai v. United States, No. 25-5110, 2026 WL 1876233 (D.C. Cir. June 30, 2026) (per curiam)
Tsai v. United States, No. 25-5110, 2026 WL 1876233 (D.C. Cir. June 30, 2026) (per curiam)
Re: Request for records concerning certain “‘payments received by the [IRS] for [requester] from third parties’”
Disposition: Affirming district court’s denial of requester’s motion to strike, grant of government’s motion for summary judgment
Procedural Requirements, Proper FOIA Requests & Searching for...
Berlant v. U.S. Election Assistance Comm’n, No. 25-64, 2026 WL 1864326 (9th Cir. June 29, 2026) (per curiam)
Berlant v. U.S. Election Assistance Comm’n, No. 25-64, 2026 WL 1864326 (9th Cir. June 29, 2026) (per curiam)
Re: Requests for records concerning accreditation of voting system test laboratories
Disposition: Affirming district court’s grant of government’s motion for reconsideration, denial of requester’s motion for reconsideration
- Litigation Considerations, Evidentiary Showing, Adequacy of Search...
Heritage Found. v. DOJ, No. 24-200, 2026 WL 1847082 (D.D.C. June 26, 2026) (Walton, J.)
Heritage Found. v. DOJ, No. 24-200, 2026 WL 1847082 (D.D.C. June 26, 2026) (Walton, J.)
Re: Request for “records ‘that Attorney General Merrick B. Garland relied upon in making statements to Congress and the media regarding the authority of [United States] Attorney David Weiss (“Weiss”) over the ongoing investigation into Robert Hunter Biden’”
Disposition: Granting in part and denying in part...
Hogan v. ATF, No. 25-324, 2026 WL 1852260 (M.D. Fla. June 26, 2026) (Morales Howard, J.)
Hogan v. ATF, No. 25-324, 2026 WL 1852260 (M.D. Fla. June 26, 2026) (Morales Howard, J.)
Re: Request for records concerning plaintiff
Disposition: Converting defendant’s motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment
- Litigation Considerations, Summary Judgment: The court “convert[s] [the] motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment, [to] . . . give the parties a ‘reasonable...
Luffman v. Collinsville Cmty Unit Sch. Dist. #10, No. 25-2049, 2026 WL 1815364 (7th Cir. June 24, 2026) (per curiam)
Luffman v. Collinsville Cmty Unit Sch. Dist. #10, No. 25-2049, 2026 WL 1815364 (7th Cir. June 24, 2026) (per curiam)
Re: Request for records concerning requester
Disposition: Affirming district court’s dismissal of requester’s complaint
- Litigation Considerations, Pleadings: The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit holds that “[t]he [district] court was well within its discretion to dismiss the...