Wiggins v. Executive Office of the United States Attorneys
Civil Action No. 2020-3565
D.D.C.Mar 21, 2025Background
- Anthony W. Wiggins, acting pro se, brought a FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking all records related to his criminal prosecution in North Carolina.
- After the lawsuit, DOJ’s Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) conducted a search, locating over 5,800 potentially responsive pages, from which about 3,261 were found responsive.
- EOUSA released 2,395 pages in full or in part, withheld 794 pages fully (citing FOIA exemptions), and referred some pages to DEA and BOP for review; DEA withheld all six referred pages, and BOP released most with redactions.
- Wiggins contested the adequacy of EOUSA’s search and challenged the applicability of claimed FOIA exemptions to withheld documents.
- DOJ moved for summary judgment, arguing the adequacy of their search and the validity of their claimed exemptions; the court granted in part and denied in part DOJ’s motion, finding insufficient support for some exemptions claimed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adequacy of FOIA Search | Search missed records (e.g., cell info, photos) | Search methods were reasonable and comprehensive | Search was adequate; court grants summary judgment to DOJ |
| Exemption 5 (Deliberative Process) | Insufficient basis for withholding documents | Documents predecisional/deliberative and privileged | Exemption not established; summary judgment denied |
| Exemption 7(C) (Personal Privacy) | Overly broad withholding, not justified | Withheld/redacted pages protected privacy interests | Deficient justification for full withholdings; SJ denied |
| Sealed Court Records | Unjustified withholding | Records sealed, thus withheld | Inadequate support for withholding; summary judgment denied |
Key Cases Cited
- Iturralde v. Comptroller of Currency, 315 F.3d 311 (D.C. Cir. 2003) (adequacy of a FOIA search depends on the search method, not its results)
- Ancient Coin Collectors Guild v. U.S. Dep’t of State, 641 F.3d 504 (D.C. Cir. 2011) (agency fulfills FOIA if search is reasonably calculated to uncover all relevant documents)
- NLRB v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 421 U.S. 132 (1975) (Exemption 5 applies only to privileged documents normally protected in discovery)
- U.S. Dep’t of Justice v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press, 489 U.S. 749 (1989) (Exemption 7(C) protects against unwarranted privacy invasion from law enforcement records)
- Coastal States Gas Corp. v. Dep’t of Energy, 617 F.2d 854 (D.C. Cir. 1980) (deliberative process privilege requires detailed explanation, not generic claims)