23 F. Supp. 3d 17
D.D.C.2014Background
- Sciacca submitted a FOIA request (2006) to the FBI for records relating to him; he had been convicted of RICO and is incarcerated.
- FBI initially reported no responsive records; after appeal OIP, the FBI located records and produced pages in two tranches, redacting or withholding portions under FOIA Exemptions 2, 3, 6, and 7 (including 7(C),(D),(E)).
- Defendants moved for summary judgment supported by a detailed Hardy Declaration describing 18 coded categories of redactions and identifying Bates numbers for where codes appear.
- Magistrate Judge Facciola found the Hardy Declaration inadequate to show that fully withheld pages contained no reasonably segregable information and recommended denial of summary judgment.
- District Court adopted the Report and Recommendation: denied defendants’ motion without prejudice, directing defendants to provide supplemental declarations and/or a Vaughn index giving document-level descriptions and segregability analysis.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adequacy of agency's segregability showing | Sciacca: Hardy Decl. contains only conclusory statements; can't assess segregability | FBI: extensive redactions would produce unintelligible "patchwork"; cost/effort unnecessary | Court: Denied summary judgment; agency must provide document-specific segregability analysis |
| Sufficiency of Vaughn index / declaration detail | Sciacca: No adequate Vaughn index; agency must list documents, describe them, link exemptions | FBI: relied on Hardy Decl. with coded categories and Bates numbers to explain redactions | Court: Hardy Decl. insufficient; ordered detailed Vaughn index or supplemental declarations describing each document, Bates ranges, exemptions and reasons |
| Burden of proof for FOIA exemptions | Sciacca: Agency must meet burden with specific justification for each withholding | FBI: Proffered declaration explaining categories and exemption bases | Held: Agency bears burden and may use Vaughn index or detailed affidavits; current submission failed to meet burden |
| Bad faith / credibility of agency declarations | Sciacca: FBI’s initial "unable to locate" suggests bad faith, undermining Hardy Decl. | FBI: Initial search adequacy not challenged; no evidence of bad faith in withholding | Court: No evidence of bad faith regarding withholdings; declaration retains presumption of good faith but must be more detailed |
Key Cases Cited
- U.S. Dep’t of State v. Ray, 502 U.S. 164 (FOIA enacted to facilitate public access to government documents)
- Nat’l Archives & Records Admin. v. Favish, 541 U.S. 157 (balance between public disclosure and privacy interests)
- Judicial Watch, Inc. v. FDA, 449 F.3d 141 (agency must provide descriptions tying exemptions to withheld material)
- Sussman v. U.S. Marshals Serv., 494 F.3d 1106 (district court must make specific findings on segregability)
- Mead Data Cent., Inc. v. Dep’t of the Air Force, 566 F.2d 242 (minimal information content may justify not producing heavily redacted documents)
- Wilderness Soc’y v. Dep’t of Interior, 344 F. Supp. 2d 1 (blanket declarations on segregability insufficient)
- SafeCard Serv., Inc. v. SEC, 926 F.2d 1197 (affidavits in FOIA carry presumption of good faith)