Opinion ID: 2812682
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Glomar Response

Text: On appeal, Taylor argues the NSA may not use § 552a(k)(1) of the Privacy Act to justify issuing a Glomar response and refusing to disclose non-secret portions of classified documents. We review de novo a district judge’s granting 2 Section 552a(k)(1) of the Privacy Act incorporates § 552(b)(1) (“Exemption 1”) from the FOIA, which exempts from disclosure documents, where (1) an executive order establishes criteria for keeping them secret, and (2) they are properly so classified pursuant to that order. 5 U.S.C. §§ 552a(k)(1), 552(b)(1). 5 Case: 14-15380 Date Filed: 06/29/2015 Page: 6 of 11 summary judgment. Times Publ’g Co. v. U.S. Dep’t of Commerce, 236 F.3d 1286, 1288 n.1 (11th Cir. 2001). Summary judgment is appropriate, where the movant shows there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact, and it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). We construe pro se briefs liberally, but pro se litigants nonetheless must conform to procedural rules. See Albra v. Advan, Inc., 490 F.3d 826, 829 (11th Cir. 2007). A pro se litigant abandons arguments he does not discuss in his initial brief. Timson v. Sampson, 518 F.3d 870, 874 (11th Cir. 2008). “The Privacy Act governs the government’s collection and dissemination of information and maintenance of its records and generally allows individuals to gain access to government records on them and to request correction of inaccurate records.” Perry v. Bureau of Prisons, 371 F.3d 1304, 1304 (11th Cir. 2004) (citation, internal quotation marks and alteration omitted). The Privacy Act provides each agency that maintains a system of records shall upon request by any individual to gain access to his record or to any information pertaining to him which is contained in the system, permit him and upon his request, a person of his own choosing to accompany him, to review the record and have a copy made of all or any portion thereof in a form comprehensible to him. 5 U.S.C. § 552a(d)(1). The FOIA, which requires the government to disclose documents under certain circumstances, contains nine exemptions from disclosure. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)-(b); see also CIA v. Sims, 471 U.S. 159, 166-67, 105 S. Ct. 6 Case: 14-15380 Date Filed: 06/29/2015 Page: 7 of 11 1881, 1886 (1985). Generally, an agency may not rely on the FOIA disclosure exemptions “to withhold from an individual any record which is otherwise accessible to such individual under the provisions of [§ 552a].” 5 U.S.C. § 552a(t)(1). Nevertheless, the Privacy Act expressly incorporates Exemption 1 of the FOIA, under which an agency may withhold records “(A) specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and (B) [which] are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order.” Id. §§ 552a(k)(1), 552(b)(1). When a government agency issues a Glomar response, it must “‘provide a public affidavit explaining in as much detail as is possible the basis for its claim that it can be required neither to confirm nor deny the existence of the requested records.’” Ely v. FBI, 781 F.2d 1487, 1493 (11th Cir. 1986) (quoting Phillippi, 546 F.2d at 1013). Then, the government agency’s arguments are subject to “testing by [the requestor],” who may seek appropriate discovery if necessary to clarify the agency’s position. Id. (quoting Phillippi v. CIA, 546 F.2d 1009, 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1976)). As an initial matter, Taylor’s argument on appeal relates only to the district judge’s final summary judgment order, regarding the application of Exemption 1 of the FOIA to Taylor’s Privacy Act claims, not the partial summary judgment order. Because Taylor does not (1) raise any argument the NSA improperly 7 Case: 14-15380 Date Filed: 06/29/2015 Page: 8 of 11 invoked other FOIA exemptions, (2) reference the partial summary judgment order, or (3) provide meaningful argument concerning the district judge’s determination relative to his FOIA, as opposed to his Privacy Act request, he has abandoned those arguments. See Timson, 518 F.3d at 874. Regarding his Privacy Act request, Taylor does not contest the NSA’s response concerning its search of non-intelligence records relating to him. He also does not challenge the sufficiency of the NSA’s justification for invoking Exemption 1; instead, he challenges only whether Exemption 1 can serve as a means to issue a Glomar response to a Privacy Act request. Contrary to Taylor’s contention, neither §§ 552a(k)(1) nor 552(b)(1) suggests the disclosure of redacted documents is required where a government agency invokes Exemption 1, and neither provision suggests a Glomar response is improper, when Exemption 1 applies. See 5 U.S.C. §§ 552a(k)(1), 552(b)(1). The District of Columbia Circuit has reasoned persuasively a government agency may issue a Glomar response under Exemption 1. See Larson v. Dep’t of State, 565 F.3d 857, 861 (D.C. Cir. 2009) (explaining Exemptions 1 and 33 of the FOIA “cover not only the content of protected government records but also the fact of their existence or nonexistence”). Notably, per Sherman’s declarations, the NSA complied with the case law and prescribed requirements for showing a Glomar 3 Under Exemption 3 of the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3), information need not be disclosed if a statute exempts the information from disclosure. 8 Case: 14-15380 Date Filed: 06/29/2015 Page: 9 of 11 response is warranted. See Ely, 781 F.2d at 1493. On the facts of this case, we conclude the NSA provided sufficient justification for issuing a Glomar response to Taylor’s Privacy Act request. Therefore, the district judge properly granted summary judgment to the NSA.