FOIA: Considerations for Practitioners
Daniel Epstein, Executive Director
Read agency FOIA regulations
- Where do I send the request?
- What is the method of transmission?
- What is the fee schedule?
- What is the deadline to appeal a response?
Are the docs you want already publicly available?
- Check FOIA Reading Rooms and FOIAonline
- Check Online Third-Party Resources
Be specific: This is not a discovery request
- Provide dates, search terms, and names of agency employees, if possible.
- Examples:
- “The work calendars of TIGTA Inspector General J. Russell George from March 1, 2012 to July 31, 2013.”
- “All documents regarding Mr. Edwards’ official travels for site checks or any other purpose, including the names of any individuals who accompanied Mr. Edwards from February 27, 2011 to the present.”
- Document follow-up with agency in writing.
FOIA for FOIAs
FOIA for communications with Congress (because you can’t FOIA Congress directly)
Ask different agencies for the same type of documents
How do agencies define terms?
Ethical/practical considerations of using FOIA while in litigation with an agency
According to the Department of Justice:
“[T]here simply exists no statutory or other legal prohibition against using the FOIA to supplement civil, criminal or administrative discovery in pending cases.”
-DOJ, FOIA Update Vol. VI, No. 3 (1985)
