Opinion ID: 583573
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Tax Analysts

Text: 6 In justifying its conclusion that Proposal 5 is consistent with federal law, the Authority relies heavily on United States Dep't of Justice v. Tax Analysts, 492 U.S. 136, 109 S.Ct. 2841, 106 L.Ed.2d 112 (1989), in which the Supreme Court ruled that the Department of Justice was required to make available under the FOIA copies of certain unpublished district court decisions in its case files despite the fact that those decisions were available on request from the clerks of the courts in which they were rendered. Although recognizing that the opinions were not protected by any of the nine enumerated exemptions to disclosure under the FOIA, see 5 U.S.C. § 552(b), the Department of Justice nonetheless argued that there was nothing improper in directing a requester to the principal, public source of records. Tax Analysts, 492 U.S. at 151, 109 S.Ct. at 2851 (internal quotations omitted). The Court disagreed, however, stating that 7 [i]f Congress had wished to codify an exemption for all publicly available materials, it knew perfectly well how to do so. It is not for us to add or detract from Congress' comprehensive scheme, which already balances, and protects all interests implicated by Executive Branch disclosure. 8 Id. at 152-53, 109 S.Ct. at 2852 (internal quotation omitted). Even though the FLRA did not refer to Tax Analysts in its Decision and Order, counsel for the FLRA argues that the FLRA's order is simply an expression of the principle established in Tax Analysts. Brief for Respondent/Cross-Petitioner at 5. 9 The Authority's reliance on Tax Analysts, however, is misplaced. Tax Analysts stands for the proposition that the existence of an alternative source of information is not a per se defense to a request for information under the FOIA. However, as we discuss below, under the law of this circuit consideration of alternative sources of information is indeed one factor that agencies and reviewing courts may legitimately consider in determining whether privacy-implicating information must be disclosed under the FOIA. Because the Union's proposal would preclude consideration of that factor--the proposal, as interpreted in the FLRA's decision, would require disclosure regardless  of the existence of alternative sources, Decision and Order at 11--it is inconsistent with this circuit's FOIA precedents. 2 As such, the Union's proposal is not negotiable. 3