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Freedom
of Information Act statute and Supreme Court cases from The First Amendment
Library
The Citizen Access Project at the
University of Florida offers state-by-state comparisons on access to government
information.
A Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press resource called Open Government Guide
provides all of the state laws on various categories of government records,
along with court decisions interpreting those laws.
Freedom of Information overview
Supreme Court
National
Archives and Records Administration v. Favish
Department of the Treasury v. City of Chicago, 287 F.3d 628 (7th Cir.
2002), cert. granted, then canceled 123 S. Ct. 536 (2002)
Department
of the Interior v. Klamath Water Users Protective Association, 532 U.S.
1 (2001)
Bibles v.
Oregon Natural Desert Association, 519 U.S. 355 (1997) (per curiam)
Department
of Defense v. Federal Labor Relations Authority, 510 U.S. 487 (1994)
United
States Department of Justice v. Landano, 508 U.S. 165 (1993)
Department
of State v. Ray, 502 U.S. 164 (1991)
Department
of Justice v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 489 U.S. 749
(1989)
John Doe
Agency v. John Doe Corp., 488 U.S. 1306 (1989)
CIA v.
Sims, 471 U.S. 159 (1985)
United
States v. Weber Aircraft Corporation, 465 U.S. 792 (1984)
FTC v.
Grolier, Inc., 462 U.S. 19 (1983)
FBI v.
Abramson, 456 U.S. 615 (1982)
United
States Department of State v. Washington Post Co., 456 U.S. 595
(1982)
Federal
Open Market Committee v. Merrill, 443 U.S. 340 (1979)
NLRB v.
Robbins Tire & Rubber Co., 437 U.S. 214 (1978)
Department
of the Air Force v. Rose, 425 U.S. 352 (1976)
NLRB v.
Sears, Roebuck & Co., 421 U.S. 132 (1975)
EPA v.
Mink, 410 U.S. 73 (1973)
Other
Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft, 303 F.3d 681 (6th Cir. 2002)
Center for Auto Safety v. NHTSA, 244 F.3d 144 (D.C. Cir. 2001)
Critical Mass Energy Project v. NRC, 975 F.2d 871 (D.C. Cir. 1992)
(en banc), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 984 (1993)
1966 Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) or here
Public
Citizen brief in Center for Auto Safety v. NHTSA
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Post-9/11 info access
Supreme Court
M.K.B. v. Warden, 124 S.Ct. 1405 (2004)
Press Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court of California, 478 U.S. 1 (1986)
Press Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court, 464 U.S. 501 (1984)
Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court, 457 U.S. 596 (1982)
Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555 (1980)
Houchins v. KQED, 438 U.S. 1 (1978)
Pell v. Procunier, 417 U.S. 817 (1974)
Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665 (1972)
Zemel v. Rusk, 381 U.S. 1 (1965)
Other
Center for National Security Studies v. United States, DOJ, 331 F.3d 918 (D.C. Cir. 2003)
Center for National Security Studies v. United States, DOJ, 215 F.Supp.2d 94 (D.C. District Court 2002)
Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft, 303 F.3d 681 (6th Cir. 2002)
North Jersey Media Group v. Ashcroft, 308 F.3d 198 (3rd Cir. 2002)
Department of Justice FOIA memorandum
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Horizon
"Homeland security FOIA exemption leaves us in dark," by Paul K. McMasters
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Open records
Department of Justice v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 489 U.S. 749 (1989)
Freedom of Information Act, amended, 5 U.S.C. Section 552
“Open Government Guide”
Freedom of Information Center state-by-state open-records surveys (University of Missouri)
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Marion Brechner Citizens Access Project
American Civil Liberties Union
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Open meetings
Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 727 F.2d 1195 (D.C. Cir. 1984)
Beck v. Shelton, 593 S.E.2d 195 (Va. 2004)
Del Papa v. Bd. of Regents of the Univ. & Cmty. Coll. Sys., 956 P.2d 770 (Nev. 1998)
Wood v. Battle Ground School District, 27 P.3d 1208 (Wash.App. 2001)
Board of Public Instruction of Broward County v. Doan, 224 So. 2d 693,699 (Fla. 1969)
Chaffee v. San Francisco Library Commission, 115 Cal. Rptr. 3d 336 (Cal. App. 2004)
Government in Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 552b
“Open Government Guide”
Assaf, R. James, “Mr. Smith Comes Home: The Constitutional Presumption of Openness in Local Legislative Meetings,” 40 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 227 (1989-90)
Asplund, Heather and Chidester, Margaret A. “E-Mail, ‘Sunshine,’ and Public Records,” American School Board (July 2000).
Watkins, John J., “Open Meetings Under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act,” 38 Ark. L. Rev. 268 (1984)
Wood, Craig. “The Legalities of Board Business Online,” School Administrator (August 2003).
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National FOI Day & other general information
Freedom of Information Act statute and Supreme Court cases from The First Amendment Library
FOIA Hall of Fame
State-by-state directory of open-records surveys
Associated Press FOI Web site
2009 National FOI Day resources
March 13, 2009: “Freedom & Information: Looking Back & Looking Forward”
2008 National FOI Day resources
March 14, 2008: “Toward a More Open Government: Opportunities & Obstacles”
2007 National FOI Day resources
March 16, 2007: “Access: Oversight & Priorities”
- Agenda
- Remarks
- Conference coverage
2006 National FOI Day resources
March 16, 2006: “FOIA at Forty: The Past’s Lessons for the Future”
2005 National FOI Day resources
March 16, 2005: "Congress and the Courts: Confronting Secrecy"
2004 National FOI Day resources
March 16, 2004: "Secrecy as Public Policy: Is More Better?"
2003 National FOI Day resources
March 14, 2003: "FOI: Survival Strategies for an Embattled Right"
- Agenda
- Remarks
- 2003 FOI updates
- Other reports
- “Press not spotlighting government secrecy ‘cloak,’ ” by Harry F. Rosenthal
- “First Report” on privacy and access by Fred Cate of Indiana University, commissioned by the First Amendment Center
- National Security Archive report on the first federal government-wide audit of FOIA compliance showing a mixed impact of the attorney general’s October 2001 memo, which urged federal agencies to be cautious in releasing records
- “Homefront Confidential,” a compendium of restrictions on the press and access since Sept. 11, 2001, by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
- “Agenda For Secrecy,” a Common Cause report examining major businesses' involvement in getting a provision into the Homeland Security Act that seriously erodes the public’s right to know
- Marion Brechner Citizen Access Project report on anti-terrorism legislation passed in more than 20 states
- “Journalists Hear Grim News on Accessing Government Information,” by Robert B. Bluey, CNSNews.com
- “Fretting About the State of FOIA,” by Joanna Glasner, Wired News
2002 National FOI Day resources
March 15, 2002: "Access & Security in a Time of Crisis"
- Agenda
- Remarks
- 2002 FOI updates
- Other reports
2001 National FOI Day resources
March 16, 2001: "Access, Privacy and Security: A Troubled Tangle"
2000 National FOI Day resources
March 16, 2000: "Access and Technology: Recovering the Promise"
- Agenda
- 2000 FOI updates
- Conference coverage
1999 National FOI Day resources
March 16, 1999: "Access to Information: Strategies and Solutions"
- Agenda
- Remarks
- Conference coverage
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How to file an FOIA request
Supreme Court
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has compiled a list of “Major Supreme Court FOI
Act Cases.”
Resources
Freedom
of Information Topics and Federal
and State FOI Statutes in The First Amendment Library
Freedom
of Information Act — federal statute
Privacy Act of 1974 —
federal statute
“A Citizen’s Guide on Using
the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974 to Request Government
Records” is a very detailed and user-friendly guide prepared by the
Committee on Government Reform and published by the Government Printing
Office.
The “Justice Department Guide
to the Freedom of Information Act” (2007 report) is an extensive
discussion of the act's procedural aspects and exemptions that includes case law
interpretations. It is updated by the Department of Justice's Office of
Information and Privacy every two years.
“Federal Open Government Guide” is an excellent guide prepared by the Reporters Committee for Freedom
of the Press and geared specifically toward journalists.
The DOJ keeps updated
links to all other federal agencies’ FOIA Web sites
DOJ also keeps an updated list of principal
FOIA contacts at all federal agencies
The DOJ’s Office of Information and Privacy has a FOIA counseling service
that answers general questions and helps with determining which agency to
approach. Its number is 202/514-3642.
The Federal Citizen Information Center of the U.S. General Services
Administration also answers questions about FOIA, advertising that it is
“especially prepared to help you find the right agency, the right office and the
right address.” Phone 800/333-4636 or e-mail them your questions from this site.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has jurisdiction over most products
and provides a helpful guide to the
products (and some services) that other agencies oversee.
The Department of Justice provides copies of annual FOIA reports for all federal branches and agencies.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press publishes The Open Government Guide, a
guide to each state’s open-meetings and open-records laws. Also see the Reporters Committee's FOI resources.
Similar information can be found at the Web site of the Marion Brechner Citizens
Access Project.
Most states have FOI offices or officers within individual agencies, so it
may be expedient to call the agency governing your area of interest.
When you know the address for the agency whose information you seek, see the
Student Press Law Center's FOI
request letter generator.
The Reporters Committee also has a user-friendly letter generator on its
Web site. It prompts you for all relevant information about your request and
drafts the letter for you, then allows you to edit it before saving or printing.
You must e-mail or mail it yourself.
Nongovernment FOIA groups
Several nonprofit watchdog groups monitor
FOIA, including public-interest groups, First Amendment advocates, journalists
and libraries. Their Web sites provide updates on FOIA issues in the news as
well as their own studies of government secrecy.
OpenTheGovernment.org is a nonprofit coalition of more than 30 organizations
working on freedom of information issues. In 2008 it released its independent
study on government classification and secrecy. The group has also compiled
a report on the most-wanted federal documents.
George Washington University’s National Security Archive is a good
place to start when looking for declassified documents about national security.
OMB Watch posts news, background
and analysis on a wide range of information and access issues.
The Citizen Access Project's Web
site includes the texts of all freedom-of-information laws enacted in each of
the 50 states. It also provides contacts for local organizations involved with
open-government issues.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’s “Open Government Guide” is probably
the most complete guide to open-government law in the 50 states and District of
Columbia.
In addition to its open-government guide, the Reporters Committee has done an
in-depth study of
electronic access in each state, “a survey of constitutional provisions,
statutes, court decisions, attorney general opinions and gubernatorial executive
orders concerning access to electronic records.”
FOIAdvocates offers many
resources, including FAQs.
WikiFoia is a Wiki launched in
March 2007 that seeks "to build a comprehensive and collaborative How To Guide
to provide very practical information about open records requests at the state
and local level."
The First Amendment Center sponsors the annual National FOI Day
conference, a daylong program of speaking and discussion by specialists in
various aspects of freedom of information, updating developments in FOI over the
preceding year.
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Last system update:
Friday, April 23, 2010 | 12:48:59
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