Wright v. Administration for Children and Families
Civil Action No. 2015-0218
| D.D.C. | Oct 11, 2016Background
- Pro se plaintiff Chris Wright filed a FOIA suit against Administration for Children and Families (ACF/HHS) seeking records about BCFS grant 90ZU0102 (residential shelter services for unaccompanied alien children), including “narrative status reports” (Item 1) and broader items about BCFS activities (Items 16–20).
- ACF construed Item 1 to include Performance Progress Reports (PPRs) and Situation Reports and searched ACF-ORR and ACF-OGM and relevant staff email boxes; no responsive records were found for Items 16–20 after targeted searches.
- Between March and September 2015, HHS produced many pages (PPRs, Situation Reports, monitoring reports, emails), some redacted under FOIA Exemptions 4, 5, 6, and 7(C); two documents remained partially redacted under Exemption 5 (deliberative process).
- Plaintiff challenged (a) adequacy of the agency search (including failure to search regional offices, personal accounts, and broader BCFS entities) and (b) applicability of Exemption 5 and sought in camera review.
- The Court reviewed the agency declarations, the Vaughn index, and the record and granted summary judgment to HHS, finding the searches adequate and Exemption 5 properly applied to the limited redactions; in camera review was denied.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adequacy of search for Item 1 (narrative status reports) | Wright: agency failed to search regional offices, former employees, other systems and did not sufficiently describe email search methods | HHS: searched offices most likely to hold responsive PPRs and Situation Reports, searched relevant email boxes and hired consultant to recover missing SitReps | Court: search was reasonably calculated and adequate; no positive indications of overlooked material |
| Adequacy of search for Items 16–20 (broader BCFS info) | Wright: items cover all BCFS entities and activities beyond the grant; agency limited its search to grant files | HHS: those categories fall outside ACF’s routine data collection; searched likely record systems and found none | Court: agency reasonably concluded records unlikely and searched systems likely to contain them; adequacy satisfied |
| Search of personal (non‑agency) email accounts | Wright: substantial likelihood staff used personal accounts; requests sworn declarations from officials | HHS: personal accounts are not in agency possession or control; agency presumed to follow recordkeeping rules; FOIA does not compel sworn declarations | Court: Competitive Enterprises clarified some nonofficial accounts can be agency records if under agency control, but here plaintiff offered no countervailing evidence; presumption of compliance stands; request for declarations denied |
| Use of FOIA Exemption 5 (deliberative process) and in camera review | Wright: redactions may conceal misconduct or politically motivated discussions; seeks in camera review to test veracity | HHS: redactions are pre‑decisional, deliberative intra‑agency emails; Vaughn index and declaration justify withholding and segregability | Court: Exemption 5 properly applied to limited redactions; agency met segregability obligations; government‑misconduct exception to Exemption 5 does not apply in FOIA context; in camera review not warranted |
Key Cases Cited
- ACLU v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 750 F.3d 927 (D.C. Cir. 2014) (FOIA’s purpose to open agency action to public scrutiny)
- Milner v. U.S. Dep’t of Navy, 562 U.S. 562 (2011) (FOIA exemptions are exclusive and must be narrowly construed)
- Oglesby v. U.S. Dep’t of Army, 79 F.3d 1172 (D.C. Cir. 1996) (affidavits/Vaughn index requirements for withheld materials)
- Ancient Coin Collectors Guild v. U.S. Dep’t of State, 641 F.3d 504 (D.C. Cir. 2011) (reasonable, detailed affidavit showing search terms and files searched)
- Valencia‑Lucena v. U.S. Coast Guard, 180 F.3d 321 (D.C. Cir. 1999) (agency must show search reasonably calculated to uncover requested documents)
- Iturralde v. Comptroller of Currency, 315 F.3d 311 (D.C. Cir. 2003) (adequacy assessed by methods, not mere failure to find a document)
- Competitive Enter. Inst. v. Office of Science & Technology Policy, 827 F.3d 145 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (nonofficial accounts may be agency records if under agency control)
- U.S. Dep’t of Justice v. Tax Analysts, 492 U.S. 136 (1989) (definition and control requirement for "agency records")
- In Re Sealed Case, 121 F.3d 729 (D.C. Cir. 1997) (discussion of government‑misconduct exception to deliberative privilege in non‑FOIA context)