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    Digital Journalist's Legal Guide
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    Everything online journalists need to protect their legal rights. This free resource culls from all Reporters Committee resources and includes exclusive content on digital media law issues.

    Freedom of Information

    Access to arrest records can be limited, Conn. appellate court rules

    Amanda Simmons | Freedom of Information | News | August 1, 2012
    Amanda Simmons
    News
    August 1, 2012

    A Connecticut appellate court ruled this week in favor of restricting access to police records under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

    Reporters Committee launches online guide to appealing federal FOIA denials

    Press Release | August 1, 2012
    August 1, 2012

    The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has launched a comprehensive, online guide to appealing federal Freedom of Information Act requests that will help journalists navigate the administrative process more effectively on their own.

    Access to File "Metadata"

    A question still exists as to whether “metadata,” the information used to index a document in electronic format, is part of a record that must be disclosed under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

    Record Formats

    The federal Freedom of Information Act states that an agency “shall” make a “record” available “in any form or format requested by the person if the record is readily reproducible by the agency in that form or format.”2 It further states that “[e]ach agency shall make reasonable efforts to maintain its records in forms or formats that are reproducible for purposes of” FOIA.3
     

    Record Format Issues

    The federal Freedom of Information Act defines a “record” in part as “any information that would be an agency record subject to the requirements of [the FOIA] when maintained by an agency in any format, including electronic format.”1 While there remains little debate that electronic versions of records are subject to the FOIA, disputes can arise over what exact formats of a record must be disclosed to a requester under FOIA.

    Sample Appeal Letters and Templates

    You are now ready to begin writing your administrative appeal. To get started, use our FOIA appeals letter generator. It is a letter template that contains standardized language and also allows you to customize your appeal to make the specific arguments relevant to your situation. If you are going forward and filling a “pro se” lawsuit, you can use our FOIA complaint template.

    Additional Means to Handle Delay

    Aside from filing an administrative appeal or lawsuit (see the discussion in the preceding section), you should consider alternative ways to possibly speed up a request that is taking too long.

    Consequences of Missing Response Deadline

    If an agency misses its response deadline, either the standard 20-day deadline or an extended deadline, you have the right to administratively appeal this “constructive denial.” In such an appeal, you should attempt to establish that the request (or portions of it) is relatively simple and can be readily processed, and that the delay incurred so far is simply not justified. Provide any information you have that may speed up agency processing.

    Deadlines and Extensions

    Despite the realities of processing delays and backlogs, federal agencies usually have 20 working days to respond to your FOIA request.

    Excessive Delay

    The federal Freedom of Information Act generally requires agencies to “determine” within 20 working days after the receipt of a FOIA request whether it will comply with the request and notify the requester accordingly.1 In practice, however, this deadline is largely aspirational as many federal agencies have considerable FOIA request backlogs and therefore often fail to meet this statutory deadline.