Section 44 Exemptions

• Library: Administrative Law 2011

The FOIA requires disclosure of all records not specifically exempted, and disclosure is mandatory unless the agency shows that the records sought are protected by a specific exemption. Aug v. Nat’l R.R. Passenger Corp., 425 F. Supp. 946, 951 (D.D.C. 1976). Even though 5 U.S.C. § 552(b) exempts nine categories of records from mandatory disclosure, an agency must release to a requester any reasonably segregable, nonexempt portions of requested records, including when requested materials are within one of the nine exemptions specified in the FOIA. If information is deleted from requested records, the records disclosed must indicate the amount of information deleted and the place in the record where the deleted material was located, if technically feasible. Section 552(b). To claim an exemption, federal agencies generally are required to provide a “Vaughn Index,” which identifies “each document withheld,” identifies “the statutory exemption claimed,” and explains “how disclosure would damage the interests protected by the claimed exemption.” Citizens Comm’n on Human Rights v. FDA, 45 F.3d 1325, 1326 n.1 (9^th Cir. 1995).

Matters exempt under the FOIA are exempt from all FOIA provisions, including publication, availability, and disclosure. Westinghouse Elec. Corp. v. Schlesinger, 542 F.2d 1190 (4^th Cir. 1976). The strong FOIA policy favoring disclosure and the...