Opinion ID: 784738
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Lion's Line Check Sheets

Text: 28 With respect to the withholding of the USDA-retained originals of Lion's Line Check Sheets, no remand is necessary. We have reviewed the sealed declaration and we find that nothing therein justifies the application of the law enforcement exemption. If, as USDA contends, the USDA-retained originals of the Line Check Sheets are identical to the Lion-retained copies it left at Lion's packing plant, then no harm to the government's criminal investigation could possibly result from producing copies of the USDA-retained originals. Because Lion already has copies of the documents it seeks from USDA, USDA cannot argue that revealing the information would allow Lion premature access to the evidence upon which it intends to rely at trial. See Dow Jones Co. v. FERC, 219 F.R.D. 167, 173-74 (C.D.Cal.2003) (government's claim to law enforcement exemption for document related to its criminal investigation failed where it had previously disclosed the document to the target of the investigation). Likewise, there is no possibility that Lion could tamper with or falsify the authentic USDA-retained originals of Lion's Line Check Sheets because Lion seeks only copies of the USDA-retained originals. USDA would continue to retain the original version of the USDA-retained originals. The government suggests that releasing Lion's Line Check Sheets would give Lion an opportunity to forge or falsify those copies in an attempt to cast doubt on the authenticity of the USDA-retained originals. Such a speculative and farfetched concern, which appears not to implicate any sources, techniques, methods, or other confidential law enforcement concern, is not a legitimate basis on which to invoke the law enforcement exemption. Were we to take it seriously, the government's argument would justify withholding of virtually any document by any government agency on the ground that the recipient might tamper with the disclosed copy. We thus conclude that the district court clearly erred in applying the law enforcement exemption to the USDA-retained originals of Lion's Line Check Sheets.