Opinion ID: 2354141
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Adequacy of an agency's search for records; federal approach

Text: ¶ 51 As mentioned, I agree with the majority's conclusion that we should adopt for purposes of the PRA the standard of reasonableness that federal courts apply to assess the adequacy of an agency's search for public records. Unfortunately, the majority's summary of federal law does not provide an entirely accurate picture and, in particular, the majority does not explain or follow federal law describing the actual procedure through which an agency can make a showing of an adequate search and when and how discovery is part of the process. ¶ 52 As noted, in many cases, resolution of the adequacy issue at the summary judgment stage makes it unnecessary to consider discovery issues. To explain why, I provide a more extensive discussion of federal law respecting adequacy of a search for responsive public records and how this issue affects discovery. I then explain how the federal approach is entirely consistent with the PRA. ¶ 53 As federal cases show, the issue of whether an agency has adequately searched for public records under FOIA arises quite frequently. An agency responding to a request under FOIA has a duty to conduct a search for responsive records. Williams v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 177 Fed.Appx. 231, 233 (3d Cir.2006) (unpublished). An improper withholding may arise from an agency's failure to conduct an adequate search, which `is dependent upon the circumstances of the case.' Maydak v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 254 F.Supp.2d 23, 44 (D.D.C.2003) (quoting Weisberg v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 705 F.2d 1344, 1351 (D.C.Cir.1983) (quoting Founding Church of Scientology of Wash. D.C., Inc. v. Nat'l Sec. Agency, 610 F.2d 824, 834 (D.C.Cir.1979))); see Budik v. Dep't of Army, 742 F.Supp.2d 20, 29 (D.D.C.2010). The agency must make a good faith effort to conduct a search for the records requested. Campbell v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 164 F.3d 20, 27 (D.C.Cir.1998). ¶ 54 The adequacy of an agency's search is measured by a `standard of reasonableness.' Weisberg, 705 F.2d at 1351 (quoting McGehee v. C.I.A., 697 F.2d 1095, 1100-01 (D.C.Cir.1983)) (internal citation and quotation marks omitted); accord Campbell, 164 F.3d at 27-28; Maynard v. C.I.A., 986 F.2d 547, 560 (1st Cir.1993); Gillin v. I.R.S., 980 F.2d 819, 822 (1st Cir.1992). FOIA does not require a perfect search, only a reasonable one. Rein v. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, 553 F.3d 353, 362 (4th Cir.2009); Meeropol v. Meese, 790 F.2d 942, 956 (D.C.Cir.1986). ¶ 55 When a requester brings suit under FOIA and claims that an agency has failed to adequately respond to a public records request, the agency has the burden of establishing that its search for the requested records was adequate. Rugiero v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 257 F.3d 534, 547 (6th Cir.2001). The agency must show that it has made the required good faith effort to conduct a search for the requested records, using methods which can be reasonably expected to produce the information requested. Oglesby v. U.S. Dep't of Army, 920 F.2d 57, 68 (D.C.Cir.1990); accord Batton v. Evers, 598 F.3d 169, 177 (5th Cir.2010); Lahr v. Nat'l Transp. Safety Bd., 569 F.3d 964, 986 (9th Cir.2009); Campbell, 164 F.3d at 27; Zemansky v. E.P.A., 767 F.2d 569 (9th Cir.1985); Weisberg v. Dep't of Justice, 745 F.2d 1476, 1485 (D.C.Cir.1984); Wolf v. C.I.A., 569 F.Supp.2d 1, 8 (D.D.C.2008). ¶ 56 This issue is often decided by federal courts on summary judgment. Rugiero, 257 F.3d at 544. On a motion for summary judgment, [a]ffidavits or declarations supplying facts indicating that the agency has conducted a thorough search and giving reasonably detailed explanations why any withheld documents fall within an exemption are sufficient to sustain the agency's burden. Carney v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 19 F.3d 807, 812 (2d Cir.1994) (footnote omitted). The affidavits or declarations must be submitted in good faith and provide a reasonably detailed, nonconclusory account of the scope of the search, providing search terms (for electronic searches), describing the type of search performed, and averring that the agency searched all files likely to contain responsive materials, with this information being sufficient to provide an opportunity for the requesting party to challenge the adequacy of the search if the requester wishes to do so. Lahr, 569 F.3d at 986; Rein, 553 F.3d at 362-63 (citing Ethyl Corp. v. U.S. E.P.A., 25 F.3d 1241, 1246-47 (4th Cir.1994)); Valencia-Lucena v. U.S. Coast Guard, 180 F.3d 321, 326 (D.C.Cir.1999); Grand Cent. P'ship v. Cuomo, 166 F.3d 473, 488-89 (2d Cir.1999); Oglesby, 920 F.2d at 68; Weisberg, 745 F.2d at 1485; Kaminsky v. Nat'l Aeronautics & Space Admin., 402 Fed.Appx. 617, 617 (2d Cir.2010) (unpublished); see Perry v. Block, 684 F.2d 121, 127 (D.C.Cir.1982) (affidavits that explain in reasonable detail the scope and method of the search conducted by the agency will suffice to demonstrate compliance with the obligations imposed by the FOIA). ¶ 57 The affidavit or declaration must be sufficiently detailed to show what records were searched, by whom, and through what process, Steinberg v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 23 F.3d 548, 552 (D.C.Cir.1994); Weisberg v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 627 F.2d 365, 371 (D.C.Cir.1980). However, the agency does not necessarily have to produce a declaration or affidavit from the individual employee who actually conducted the search; an affidavit or declaration of the agency employee who is responsible for supervising a FOIA search may be sufficient. Carney, 19 F.3d at 814; Maynard, 986 F.2d at 560; SafeCard Servs., Inc. v. S.E.C., 926 F.2d 1197, 1201 (D.C.Cir. 1991); Meeropol, 790 F.2d at 951. Further, the agency does not necessarily have to disclose details about the identity or background of the actual individuals who processed the FOIA request. Maynard, 986 F.2d at 563. ¶ 58 An affidavit or declaration that supplies facts sufficiently indicating that the agency has conducted a thorough search is accorded a presumption of good faith. Carney, 19 F.3d at 812; SafeCard Servs., 926 F.2d at 1200; Kaminsky, 402 Fed.Appx. at 617; Pietrangelo v. U.S. Army, 334 Fed. Appx. 358, 360 (2d Cir.2009). Unfortunately, the majority disregards the importance of this presumption. ¶ 59 Significantly, under FOIA the factual question is not whether the agency recovered every document that might be responsive or whether documents might exist that are possibly responsive to the request, but rather whether the search itself was reasonably calculated to discover documents responsive to the request. Batton v. Evers, 598 F.3d 169, 176 (5th Cir.2010); Trentadue v. F.B.I., 572 F.3d 794, 807 (10th Cir.2009); Lahr, 569 F.3d at 987; Rein, 553 F.3d at 362; Grand Cent. P'ship, 166 F.3d at 489; In re Wade, 969 F.2d 241, 249 n. 11 (7th Cir.1992); Zemansky, 767 F.2d at 571; Williams, 177 Fed. Appx. at 233. ¶ 60 An agency is not required to search every record system in the agency. Oglesby v. U.S. Dep't of Army, 920 F.2d 57, 68 (D.C.Cir.1990); see also Rein, 553 F.3d at 364 (a `reasonably calculated search' does not require that the agency search every file where a document could possibly exist, but rather requires that the search be reasonable in light of the totality of the circumstances (citing SafeCard Servs., 926 F.2d at 1201)). Although agencies must respond to requests under the Act, they are not required to open their doors and invite the public in to peruse their records. For that reason, our review focuses on the adequacy of the agency's search, and not on the chance that additional documents exist. CareToLive v. F.D.A., 631 F.3d 336, 341 (6th Cir.2011). The Act does not require that agencies account for all of their documents, so long as they reasonably attempt to locate them. Id. ¶ 61 Of course, an agency is not required to create a document that did not exist in order to satisfy a FOIA request. Miller v. U.S. Dep't of State, 779 F.2d 1378, 1385 (8th Cir.1985); Yeager v. Drug Enforcement Admin., 678 F.2d 315, 321 (D.C.Cir.1982). Further, the filing system that an agency uses is generally designed to serve the agency's internal needs, and although an agency must make a diligent effort calculated to uncover the requested document, it need not restructure its entire system in order to satisfy a FOIA request. Miller, 779 F.2d at 1385.