Defraia v. Cent. Intelligence Agency

311 F. Supp. 3d 42
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedApril 30, 2018
DocketCase No. 1:16–cv–01862 (TNM)
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 311 F. Supp. 3d 42 (Defraia v. Cent. Intelligence Agency) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Defraia v. Cent. Intelligence Agency, 311 F. Supp. 3d 42 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

TREVOR N. McFADDEN, United States District Judge

The Plaintiff in this case, Daniel DeFraia, seeks specific records under the Freedom of Information Act related to the Central Intelligence Agency's former detention and interrogation program. The requested records have been separated into two categories, and both parties have moved for partial summary judgment on the first category, as the CIA continues to process and produce records from the second. I conclude that the CIA is entitled to partial summary judgment, because the parties have agreed to narrow the FOIA requests at issue to specified contracts and the records "cited in" a specified Senate committee report, and the CIA has produced all of the required records in those agreed-upon sets.

I. BACKGROUND

In December 2014, Mr. DeFraia sent the CIA a FOIA request seeking "a) all CIA contracts with Bruce Jessen, b) all CIA contracts with James Mitchell, c) contract information between Jessen and Mitchell, d) contracts between the CIA and Mitchell, Jessen[,] and AMP Associates, and e) [ ] all information related to [ ] Jessen and [ ] Mitchell and their interaction with detainees including interrogation." Compl. 4; Decl. of Antoinette Shiner, Def.'s Mot. Summ. J. Ex. 1, Exhibit A at 25, ECF No. 16-1 (the 2014 Request). "Dr. James Mitchell and Dr. Bruce Jessen were contractors employed by the CIA to assist in interrogating CIA detainees under the CIA's former detention and interrogation program." Shiner Decl. ¶ 26. In May 2015, Mr. DeFraia sent another request asking for five categories of records that had been "cited in" or "stated in" the declassified portion of the report of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on that program. Shiner Decl. Ex. H, ECF No. 16-1 at 40 (the 2015 Request); see also Report of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Study of the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program (Senate Report), available at https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/CRPT-113srpt288.pdf (last visited April 26, 2018). Having received no documents in response to either request, Mr. DeFraia filed suit in September 2016.

In a Joint Status Report submitted in December 2016, the parties informed the Court that "[w]ith respect to the first category of records sought [in the 2014 Request], the parties have agreed to refine the scope of the request as seeking contracts *46between (1) the CIA and (2) Bruce Jessen and/or James Mitchell and/or Mitchell Jessen & Associates from 2001-2009 that relate to the CIA's rendition, detention, and interrogation program." ECF No. 7 at 2 (Joint Status Report). Both sides agreed to exclude a laundry list of sensitive information "from Defendant's initial production of records responsive to this category," such as the names and contact information of CIA personnel. Id. at 2-3. The CIA had already produced these exact documents for another litigation,1 and so anticipated providing responsive records within two weeks, after which the Plaintiff "reserve[d] the right to request that CIA produce certain redacted material." Joint Status Report at 3. As for the 2015 Request, "the parties [ ] agreed that the request will be processed as written." Id.

After productions from the CIA, both parties filed motions for summary judgment on the first portion of the 2014 Request and the full 2015 request. Mem. In Support of Def.'s Mot. Summ. J. (Def.'s Mot. Summ. J.) at 1-2, ECF No. 15; Mem. In Support of Pl.'s Mot. Summ. J. (Pl.'s Mot. Summ. J.), ECF No. 19. Production on the second portion of the 2014 Request is ongoing. See Order, ECF No. 28 at 1-2 (setting a production schedule that ends on June 29, 2018).

II. LEGAL STANDARDS

To prevail on a motion for summary judgment, a movant must show that "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a) ; see also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) ; Celotex Corp v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The FOIA requires federal agencies to "disclose information to the public upon reasonable request unless the records at issue fall within specifically delineated exemptions." Judicial Watch, Inc. v. FBI , 522 F.3d 364, 365-66 (D.C. Cir. 2008) ; see also 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A) (records sought must be "reasonably describe[d]"). Thus, a FOIA defendant is entitled to summary judgment if it demonstrates that there is no genuine dispute as to whether "each document that falls within the class requested either has been produced, is unidentifiable or is wholly exempt from the Act's inspection requirements." See Weisberg v. Dep't of Justice , 627 F.2d 365, 368 (D.C. Cir. 1980). The "vast majority" of FOIA cases are decided on motions for summary judgment. See Brayton v. Office of U.S. Trade Rep. , 641 F.3d 521, 527 (D.C. Cir. 2011).

Searching for records requires "both systemic and case-specific exercises of discretion and administrative judgment and expertise," and is "hardly an area in which the courts should attempt to micro-manage the executive branch." Schrecker v. Dep't of Justice , 349 F.3d 657, 662 (D.C. Cir. 2003).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
311 F. Supp. 3d 42, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/defraia-v-cent-intelligence-agency-cadc-2018.