Freedom of Information
District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals Reverses Dismissal of FOIA Request
By Christopher Zoukis The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed a lower court’s decision to dismiss the appeal of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) records request on June 28, 2016. Florent Bayala sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after it failed to properly respond to his FOIA…
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Alabama: A March 2, 2014 fight at the Elmore Correctional Facility resulted in eight prisoners being transported to Jackson Hospital, where three were admitted for further treatment. Details on the extent of the prisoners’ injuries and the circumstances of the fight were not released. Argentina: Raunchy photos depicting female jail guards and superintendents in various…
Read MoreLifting the Veil: Prisology Sues Federal Bureau of Prisons for Freedom of Information Act Violations
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is facing a significant challenge to the relative secrecy in which it is used to operating.
Prisology, a nonprofit criminal justice reform organization, has announced that it has filed suit against the BOP, alleging that the agency has “flagrantly disregarded” important aspects of the federal government’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) through decades of noncompliance with laws that require it to post online substantial information about its day-to-day decision-making.
The suit, Prisology v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, was filed in United States District Court in Washington, DC.
Jeremy Gordon, General Counsel for Prisology, says that the litigation is groundbreaking. The BOP’s failure to comply with the 1996 amendments requiring online posting of data under the FOIA has thus far escaped judicial scrutiny. “Effective oversight of federal agencies is impossible where lawmakers and the public do not have information about agency operations and practices. At present, the BOP largely functions in a shroud of secrecy,” Gordon said.
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