Source: http://openjurist.org/218/f3d/760
Timestamp: 2013-06-20 03:34:23
Document Index: 712526916

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 552', '§ 552', '§ 303', '§ 2106', '§ 2106', '§ 2106', '§ 2106', '§ 2106']

218 F3d 760 Keith Maydak v. United States Department of Justice, | OpenJurist
218 F. 3d 760 - Keith Maydak v. United States Department of Justice,	Home218 f3d 760 keith maydak v. united states department of justice,
218 F3d 760 Keith Maydak v. United States Department of Justice, 218 F.3d 760 (D.C. Cir. 2000)
Keith Maydak Appellantv.United States Department of Justice, Appellee
Argued May 3, 2000Decided July 18, 2000
Keith Maydak seeks the release under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") of copies of law enforcement records compiled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania in connection with his criminal prosecution for various offenses. The government originally denied Maydak's FOIA request by invoking FOIA Exemption 7(A), which permits the withholding of law enforcement records which if produced "could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings." 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(A) (1994). The district court granted summary judgment for the government on that basis, holding that it could withhold the documents. Having now abandoned its assertion of Exemption 7(A), however, the Department of Justice ("DOJ") seeks a remand of this case so that it might defend the applicability of other FOIA exemptions. Because the DOJ has failed to explain adequately why it could not have pleaded the other exemptions on which it wished to rely in the original district court proceedings, we deny the motion for remand, reverse the district court's judgment, and order the release of all requested documents to Maydak.
On November 15, 1994, the EOUSA by letter denied Maydak's request in full, relying solely on FOIA Exemption 7(A).Exemption 7(A) exempts from FOIA disclosure requirements "records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes ... to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information ... could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings...." 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(A). The principal purpose of Exemption 7(A) is to prevent disclosures which might prematurely reveal the government's cases in court, its evidence and strategies, or the nature, scope, direction, and focus of its investigations, and thereby enable suspects to establish defenses or fraudulent alibis or to destroy or alter evidence. See NLRB v. Robbins Tire & Rubber Co., 437 U.S. 214, 227, 241-42 (1978);see also 37A Am. Jur. 2d Freedom of Information Acts § 303 (1994). Another recognized goal of Exemption 7(A) is to prevent litigants from identifying and intimidating or harassing witnesses. See Robbins Tire, 437 U.S. at 239-40. In its denial letter, the EOUSA stated that "portions of the information" contained in Maydak's file were "being considered in connection with" his pending appeal, and thus that the government was withholding all of the requested documents pursuant to Exemption 7(A). Maydak filed a timely appeal of the EOUSA's denial with the Department of Justice's Office of Information and Privacy ("OIP"). On August 8, 1995, the Third Circuit affirmed Mayak's conviction and sentence. See United States v. Maydak, 66 F.3d 313 (3d Cir. 1995) (table).On May 29, 1996, the OIP informed Maydak that it was remanding his FOIA request for reprocessing because the EOUSA had concluded that Exemption 7(A) no longer applied.
In a final effort to obtain a remand, the DOJ argues that public policy concerns about disclosing information that might otherwise be exempt require this court to exercise its discretion under 28 U.S.C. § 2106 to remand the case for further consideration of the applicability of other FOIA exemptions. That provision provides that "[any] court of appellate jurisdiction may affirm, modify, vacate, set aside or reverse any judgment ... and may remand the cause ... as may be just under the circumstances." 28 U.S.C. § 2106 (1994). We remand pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2106 when doing so best serves such interests as judicial finality and economy and avoiding just the sort of delay that is inappropriate in FOIA cases, see, e.g., Trans-Pacific Policing Agreement v. United States Customs Serv., 177 F.3d 1022, 1028 (D.C. Cir. 1999), or basic justice and fairness. See Powell v. United States Bureau of Prisons, 927 F.2d 1239, 1243 (D.C. Cir. 1991).
The DOJ again raises Senate of Puerto Rico as an example of this court exercising its discretion under 28 U.S.C. § 2106 to allow the government to invoke other FOIA exemptions after Exemption 7(A) was deemed no longer to apply. Contrary to the DOJ's argument, however, in that case, we explicitly left open the applicability of 28 U.S.C. § 2106 in a case such as this one. See Senate of Puerto Rico, 823 F.2d at 581. Moreover, we explicitly said that "[w]e will not allow an agency 'to play cat and mouse by withholding its most powerful cannon until after the District Court has decided the case and then springing it on surprised opponents and the judge.' " Id. at 580 (quoting Grumman Aircraft Eng'g Corp. v. Renegotiation Bd., 482 F.2d 710, 722 (D.C. Cir. 1973), in which this court upheld an agency's motion for rehearing in which it raised for the first time a claim of executive privilege).
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