Elec. Frontier Found. v. U.S. Dep't of Justice

376 F. Supp. 3d 1023
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedMarch 26, 2019
DocketCase No. 16-cv-02041-HSG
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 376 F. Supp. 3d 1023 (Elec. Frontier Found. v. U.S. Dep't of Justice) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Elec. Frontier Found. v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 376 F. Supp. 3d 1023 (N.D. Cal. 2019).

Opinion

HAYWOOD S. GILLIAM, JR., United States District Judge

Pending before the court is the motion for partial summary judgment filed by Defendant U.S. Department of Justice, Dkt. No. 66, and the cross-motion for partial summary judgment filed by Plaintiff Electronic Frontier Foundation ("EFF"), Dkt. No. 68. For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS Defendant's motion and DENIES Plaintiff's motion.

I. BACKGROUND

On April 19, 2016, EFF filed this action under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C. § 552, seeking release of records concerning applications to the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court ("FISC") and related opinions and orders. Dkt. No. 1 ("Compl.") ¶ 1.

According to the Complaint, FISC reviews applications from the government concerning national security surveillance. Id. ¶ 7. Historically, FISC opinions and appellate decisions by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review ("FISCR") were ex parte and classified. Id. ¶ 8. However, the USA FREEDOM Act, which was passed in the wake of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, required a declassification review of "significant" FISC and FISCR decisions. Id. ¶¶ 9-12. Plaintiff alleges that recently the government has been using court orders to pressure private companies to provide access to encrypted communications, as was allegedly done following the San Bernardino shootings. Id. ¶¶ 14-18. Through this FOIA action, Plaintiff "seeks to inform the public about the extent to which the government has used FISA and the FISC to compel private companies into providing assistance that would undermine the safety and security of millions of people who rely on software and the devices that run them, such as the iPhone, every day." Id. ¶ 19.

Currently at issue is one FOIA request: a request for all decisions, orders, or opinions issued by FISC or FISCR between 1978 and June 1, 2015, that include a significant construction or interpretation of any law, including a significant construction of a "specific selection term" under the USA FREEDOM Act. See id. ¶ 31; Dkt. No. 68 at 3. The government identified seventy-nine (79) responsive FISC opinions, and eventually agreed to release seventy-three (73) of those opinions, in full or in part. Dkt. No. 68 at 3-4. The remaining six opinions are the subject of these *1027cross motions for summary judgment. The government contends that these six documents are exempted from disclosure under FOIA Exemptions 1, 3, 6, 7(A), 7(C), and 7(E). Dkt. No. 66 at 1. Plaintiff argues that the USA FREEDOM Act requires the government to conduct a declassification review and either declassify and release the six opinions, or create an unclassified summary of each of the opinions. Dkt. No. 68 at 2. Plaintiff contends that because the government has not complied with the declassification requirements, it has failed to meet its burden under FOIA to withhold the six documents. Id. at 7. Plaintiff articulates a single claim for relief: violation of FOIA for wrongful withholding of the six undisclosed agency records. Compl. ¶¶ 38-41.

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Summary judgment is proper when a "movant shows 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). A fact is "material" if it "might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute is "genuine" if there is evidence in the record sufficient for a reasonable trier of fact to decide in favor of the nonmoving party. Id. The Court views the inferences reasonably drawn from the materials in the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. , 475 U.S. 574, 587-88, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986), and "may not weigh the evidence or make credibility determinations," Freeman v. Arpaio , 125 F.3d 732, 735 (9th Cir. 1997), overruled on other grounds by Shakur v. Schriro , 514 F.3d 878, 884-85 (9th Cir. 2008).

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376 F. Supp. 3d 1023, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/elec-frontier-found-v-us-dept-of-justice-cand-2019.