Roble v. Dep't of Justice
Roble v. Dep't of Justice
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff, appearing pro se , challenges the Executive Office for United States Attorneys' ("EOUSA") denial of his request under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") and the Privacy Act. The Department of Justice, of which EOUSA is a component, has moved for summary judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 (ECF No. 10). For the reasons explained below, the motion will be GRANTED.
I. BACKGROUND
On October 11, 2016, Plaintiff requested copies of "Grand jury minutes (transcripts) taken on November 6th 2013" pertaining to his criminal indictment in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. (Decl. of Vinay J. Jolly, ECF No. 10-1, Ex. A). Such records "were originally maintained in the criminal case United States v. Roble , No. 13-CF1-6095." (Jolly Decl. ¶ 9). Plaintiff wrote that he had "been provided with several other transcripts from the grand jury ... taken on April 17, 19, 24th, May *16310, 15 and 16th, 2013 prepared by your Office." (Jolly Decl., Ex. A).
By letter of November 22, 2016, EOUSA denied Plaintiff's request on the erroneous premise that he had sought third-party records. (Id. , Ex. B). Plaintiff appealed to the Office of Information Policy ("OIP"), which accurately described the request as seeking "access to grand jury minutes from [Plaintiff's] criminal case recorded on November 6, 2013" but nonetheless affirmed EOUSA's denial "on modified grounds." (Id. , Ex. E). OIP explained: "To the extent that the specific grand jury records that you seek exist, any such records would be protected from disclosure pursuant to
II. LEGAL STANDARD
Summary judgment is appropriate where the record shows there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a) ; Celotex Corp. v. Catrett ,
In FOIA cases, summary judgment may be based solely on information provided in the agency's supporting declarations. See ACLU v. U.S. Dep't of Def. ,
If an agency's affidavit describes the justifications for withholding the information with specific detail, demonstrates that the information withheld logically falls within the claimed exemption, and is not contradicted by contrary evidence in the record or by evidence of the agency's bad faith, then summary judgment is warranted on the basis of the affidavit alone.
ACLU ,
III. ANALYSIS
1. Privacy Act
Defendant asserts correctly that disclosure of the requested records is not *164required under the Privacy Act because the criminal files of the United States Attorneys' Offices have been properly exempted from that Act's access provisions. (See Def.'s Mem. at 4-5, ECF No. 10) (citing Jolly Decl. ¶ 10 and 5 U.S.C. § 552a (j)(2) ). Because the Privacy Act excepts from its coverage documents required to be disclosed under the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552a(b)(2), EOUSA duly proceeded "under the provisions of the FOIA." (Jolly Decl. ¶ 11).
2. FOIA
FOIA Exemption 3 protects from disclosure records that are "specifically exempted from disclosure by statute ..., if that statute (i) requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue; or (ii) establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld[.]"
Citing Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e)(2)(B), the D.C. Circuit has "recognized that 'requests for documents related to grand jury investigations implicate FOIA's third exemption.' "
EOUSA's declarant confirms the government's reliance on Exemption 3 to withhold "grand jury transcripts and minutes, pertaining to the direction and targets of the grand jury and naming of grand jury witnesses." Jolly Decl. ¶ 13. The declarant explains that the disclosure of such matters would reveal "the scope of the grand jury's investigation by setting forth where the government sought to find evidence to develop its case, how the government developed its case, and who it relied upon to develop the elements of crimes."
EOUSA's response was proper since "a grand jury transcript itself epitomizes the *165sensitive details of the proceedings that Congress sought to keep protected." Sanders v. Obama ,
Plaintiff's counterarguments are misplaced. It is apparent from the complaint and opposition that Plaintiff is seeking confirmation of what he describes as the "second (new)" grand jury proceedings, which resulted in his indictment. Plaintiff explains that he "was informed that multiple Grand juries heard evidence in the criminal case against him, and that the second (new) Grand jury which returned the indictment did not investigate the case nor hear live testimony from any witness." (Pl.'s Opp'n at 1, ECF No. 15). In contrast, Plaintiff alleges, "the first (prior) Grand jury which investigated the case and heard live testimony from all the witnesses, found the government's evidence flawed and inconsistent[.]" (Id. at 1-2). Plaintiff surmises that "[t]here was no investigations [sic] done nor live testimony from any witness heard by the second (new) Grand jury," which "only relied upon 'hearsay statements' told by the Assistant United States Attorney ... to return the indictment." (Pl.'s Opp'n at 2).
In a FOIA case, however, it is established that "the identity of the requester is irrelevant to whether disclosure is required," Stonehill v. IRS ,
Plaintiff has offered nothing to defeat summary judgment in this FOIA case, and the record and prevailing case law support EOUSA's Exemption 3 claim. Therefore, Defendant, having shown its full compliance with FOIA, is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
*166IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Defendant's motion for summary judgment will be GRANTED. A corresponding order will issue separately.
"Because it was affirmatively enacted by Congress, Rule 6(e) is recognized as a 'statute' for Exemption 3 purposes." Cunningham v. Holder ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Mohammed S. ROBLE v. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published