Court Opinion

ID: 9465474
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 00:47:18.234792+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:39:11.854657
License: Public Domain

BAZELON, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur in Parts B and C of the court’s opinion, relating to appellant Mervin’s Privacy Act and wrongful dismissal claims. I cannot, however, subscribe to the court’s disposition of appellant’s request for disclosure of documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The decisions of this circuit have clearly established that nonexempt portions of an otherwise exempt document must be disclosed unless they are “inextricably intertwined with exempt portions.” Mead Data Central, Inc. v. United States Dep’t of Air Force, 184 U.S.App.D.C. 350, 368, 566 F.2d 242, 260 (1977); accord, Washington Research Project, Inc. v. Dept. of HEW, 164 U.S.App.D.C. 169, 180, 504 F.2d 238, 249 (1974); Bristol-Myers v. FTC, 138 U.S.App.D.C. 22, 26, 424 F.2d 935, 939 cert. denied, 400 U.S. 824, 91 S.Ct. 46, 27 L.Ed.2d 52 (1970). In 1974, Congress expressly incorporated this requirement into FOIA by providing that “any reasonably segregable portions of a record shall be provided . after deletion of the portions which are exempt under this subsection.” Pub.L. No. 93-502, § 2, 88 Stat. 1561, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b) (1976). Moreover, we have repeatedly emphasized that FOIA places the burden of justifying nondisclosure of reasonably segregable material on the agency seeking to withhold information and that this burden cannot be satisfied by sweeping claims of exemptions and eonclusory allegations. See, e. g., Mead Data Central, Inc. v. United States Dep’t of Air Force, 184 U.S.App.D.C. 350, 368-70, 566 F.2d 242, 260-62 (1977); Vaughn v. Rosen, 173 U.S.App.D.C. 187, 195-96, 523 F.2d 1136, 1144-45 (1975). Thus, FOIA requires that every effort be made to separate and disclose those portions of attorney work product documents that do not reveal the thought processes and strategies of the attorney. See, e. g., Deering Milliken, Inc. v. Irving, 548 F.2d 1131 (4th Cir. 1977).
The majority opinion, however, suggests that where attorney work product is involved, courts are permitted “to apply a *832broader privilege than in those cases where the work-product privilege is not involved.” Majority opinion at - of 192 U.S.App.D.C., at 827 of 591 F.2d. By reducing the government’s burden of demonstrating nonsegregability and creating a lower standard of judicial review for claims of exemption under the attorney work product privilege of Exemption 5, the majority’s position violates the clear language of FOIA. In the 1974 amendments, Congress specifically mandated that for all claims of exemption — even those based on national security, an area in which the special expertise of the government agencies has been recognized— the courts shall “determine the matter de novo ” and “the burden is on the agency to sustain its action.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B).
In the present case, the FTC’s supporting affidavit does not even allege that any attempt has been made to segregate and disclose statements of fact from material that would otherwise reveal the thought processes of the attorneys. The Commission asserts only that the documents contain “selected background information, legal analyses, and recommended courses of action regarding plaintiff’s claims against the Commission,” thus constituting attorney work product. Nonetheless, the district court denied appellant’s request for disclosure “of at least segregable, factual portions” of certain documents concerning his dismissal. Complaint for Injunctive Relief, Brief for Appellee, App. at 49. Since the District Court never examined those documents, it apparently based its decision on its view that “once a document is classified as work product, even factual matters in the document are exempt from disclosure under the Act.” District Court Opinion at 4. Although an attorney’s summary of the facts of a case will often be revealing enough to merit an exemption, the district court’s interpretation of the scope of Exemption 5 flies in the face of the explicit language of FOIA and previous decisions of this court directing that non-exempt factual information be segregated and disclosed.1
In some cases an affidavit sufficiently detailed to allow de novo review could reveal the very information that the agency claims to be exempt. But this circumstance does not relieve the government of its burden of justifying nondisclosure or the court of its responsibility to conduct full de novo review of the agency decision. Recognizing that the government would not always be able to demonstrate that withheld documents were clearly exempt from disclosure by means of detailed affidavits and testimony, Congress expressly provided that the district court “may examine the contents of such agency records in camera to determine whether such records or any part thereof shall be withheld.” 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(B) (emphasis added). In camera inspection is particularly appropriate where, as here, the documents are limited in number and length, they are not particularly sensitive, and evaluation of the government’s claim does not require any special knowledge or expertise.2
*833Because the district court in the present case failed to consider whether factual material in these documents could be segregated without revealing the attorneys’ thought processes, I would remand for either further government affidavits or in camera inspection of the documents.

. The majority opinion explains that the District Court’s assertion that even factual matters in attorney work product are exempt from disclosure must be read in the context of Kent Corporation v. NLRB, 530 F.2d 612 (5th Cir. 1976). Maj. opinion at - n.4 of 192 U.S.App.D.C., at 826 n.4 of 591 F.2d. The majority then concludes that, like Kent, the District Court was persuaded that the factual matters were not segregable from the privileged work product. The Kent court, however, had conducted in camera inspection before determining that the factual matters in the specific work product reports at issue there were not segregable. In the present case, the District Court did not conduct in camera inspection. Further, although supporting affidavits may describe the documents in sufficient detail to allow de novo review without resort to in camera inspection, the Smith affidavit did not even allege that the factual material was not segregable.

. The circumstances of the present case contrast markedly with those of another recent Exemption 5 case before this court, Bristol-Myers Co. v. FTC, (No.: 77-1275, Aug. 22, 1978), in which we held that in camera inspection was unnecessary for resolution of the plaintiffs claim. In that case, the district court was plainly aware of the requirement that segregable portions of an otherwise exempt doctrine be disclosed, and the Commission supplied detailed descriptions of the documents and justifications, including hypothetical illustrations, for its claim that segregation was impracticable. Id., slip opinion at 21, *833n.23. In the present case, the district court was apparently unaware of the application of the segregability requirement to Exemption 5, and the government affidavit neither alleged nor established that factual material could not be segregated and disclosed without revealing the thought processes of the attorneys.