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Circuit split · administrative law

Whether an agency affidavit invoking FOIA Exemption 7(A) must make a specific showing that disclosure would interfere with enforcement proceedings, or whether a lesser/more categorical showing suffices

1 federal appellate case on this question, each acknowledging the disagreement in its own words.

  1. Sussman v. United States Marshals Service494 F3D 1106

    District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals · July 31, 2007

    “1987), can be read as setting a lower hurdle for affidavits in support of an invocation of Exemption 7(A), we decline to follow the Fourth Circuit’s lead.” — Declines to follow another circuit
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The provision at issue

5 U.S.C. § 552 — Public information; agency rules, opinions, orders, records, and proceedings
“(a) Each agency shall make available to the public information as follows: (1) Each agency shall separately state and currently publish in the Federal Register for the guidance of the public— (A) descriptions of its central and field organization and the established places at which, the employees (and in the case of a uniformed service, the members) from whom, and the methods whereby, the public may obtain information, make submittals or requests, or obtain decisions; (B) statements of the general course and method by which its functions are …”
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The other side of the split

Decisions the acknowledging court(s) named as the opposing or joined side, quoted in the acknowledging opinion's own words.

What the split turns on

Anchor precedents:
Robbins Tire437 U.S. 232
Statutes:
5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(A) ·
5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(C)

Cases are grouped by the legal question they announce a split on, classified from the court's own acknowledgment sentence. Verified acknowledgments only. Counter-side decisions are extracted from the acknowledging opinions' own text and linked only when the citation resolves in this corpus. See all circuit splits.