Statton v. Fla. Fed. Judicial Nominating Comm'n, No. 19-11927, 2020 WL 2569656 (11th Cir. May 21, 2020) (Grant, J.)

Statton v. Fla. Fed. Judicial Nominating Comm'n, No. 19-11927, 2020 WL 2569656 (11th Cir. May 21, 2020) (Grant, J.)

Re:  Request for judge's application, along with all supporting documentation that he provided

Disposition:  Affirming district court's entry of judgment in favor of government

• Procedural Requirements, Entities Subject to the FOIA:  The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit holds that "[t]he Commission was not a federal agency."  The court finds that "[a]ny federal supervision over the Commission began and ended with Florida's United States Senators."  "The Commission was created by the Senators, not by a federal statute."  "It did not begin its selection process until the Senators made a request."  "And its composition was completely under the control of the two Senators, who also retained the liberty to amend its Rules of Procedure at any time."  "Two Senators, acting alone, cannot create a federal agency."
   
• Litigation Considerations:  The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit holds that "[w]here we part ways with the district court is on its jurisdictional conclusion."  The court relates that "[t]he district court said that because the Commission was not an agency – and [the requester] thus did not request agency records – the complaint must be dismissed for want of subject matter jurisdiction."  However, the court finds that "[b]ecause the Commission is not an agency subject to FOIA, [the requester] has not stated a claim on which relief can be granted."