Williams v. US Department of Justice

CourtDistrict Court, D. Utah
DecidedDecember 9, 2019
Docket2:17-cv-00699
StatusUnknown

This text of Williams v. US Department of Justice (Williams v. US Department of Justice) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. US Department of Justice, (D. Utah 2019).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAH

DENNIS O. WILLIAMS, MEMORANDUM DECISION AND Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART THE CROSS v. MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Case No. 2:17-CV-699 TS DBP

District Judge Ted Stewart Defendant.

This matter is before the Court on Cross Motions for Summary Judgment. For the reasons discussed below, the Court will grant in part and deny in part the Summary Judgment Motions. I. BACKGROUND This case arises out of two Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests made by Plaintiff Dennis O. Williams (“Mr. Williams”). Mr. Williams is a former special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) who alleged wrongdoing by various FBI officials. On July 17, 2015, Mr. Williams submitted a FOIA request to the DOJ Mail Referral Unit (the “Whistleblower Request”). Mr. Williams sought: (1) All documents/records that, directly or indirectly, relate to, report on or concern Mr. Williams having been designated a “Whistle Blower” by the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility and what was done by the Department of Justice and/or the Office of Professional Responsibility to protect him throughout his career with the FBI, including legal opinions, correspondence or other communications to or from the FBI personnel, the General Accounting Office, Office of Special Investigations, Office of Inspector General and/or any member of the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding these matters. (2) The complete investigative file(s) of the Department of Justice and/or Office of Professional Responsibility concerning Mr. Williams and/or his complaints about corruption within the FBI.1 Mr. Williams’ request was subsequently forwarded to the Office of Professional Responsibility (“OPR”) and the FBI. In response to Mr. Williams’ request, OPR provided several documents but withheld 516 pages. The FBI similarly released several pages but withheld 16 pages. On February 21, 2017, Mr. Williams submitted a second FOIA request (the “Pickard Request”), this one to the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice (“Criminal Division”). Mr. Williams requested “any and all records pertaining to any referral to the DOJ Criminal Division for possible prosecution of Thomas Pickard” and “any and all records that pertain to recommendations and his suitability to become an FBI Assistant Director or Acting FBI Director.”2 On February 27, 2017, the Criminal Division provided a Glomar response,3 stating that it could neither confirm nor deny the existence of records responsive to Mr. Williams’ request.4

1 Docket No. 2-2, at 1–2. 2 Docket No. 2-6. 3 “The Glomar response takes its name from the CIA’s refusal to confirm or deny the existence of records about the Hughes Glomar Explorer, a ship used in a classified [CIA] project to raise a sunken Soviet submarine from the floor of the Pacific Ocean to recover the missiles, codes, and communications equipment onboard for analysis by United States military and intelligence experts.” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) v. Nat’l Insts. of Health, 745 F.3d 535, 540 (D.C. Cir. 2014) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). 4 Docket No. 30-1 Ex. C-2. The Criminal Division has also stated that it would not have records related to Plaintiff’s second request—any and all records that pertain to recommendations and his suitability to become an FBI Assistant Director or Acting FBI Director—because making recommendations regarding the suitability of someone to become FBI director is not one of the functions of the Criminal Division. Id. Ex. C, at 7 n.1. 2 Mr. Williams appealed that decision, and it was upheld by the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy.5 Mr. Williams brought this action seeking the 532 withheld pages and a response to the Pickard Request. Both parties now move for summary judgment. The Court previously granted Mr. Williams’ Motion for an In Camera Review,6 and the Court reviewed all the withheld

documents. II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD Summary judgment is appropriate “if the 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.”7 In considering whether a genuine dispute of material fact exists, the Court determines whether a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party in the face of all the evidence presented.8 The Court is required to construe all facts and reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.9 “Cross-motions for summary judgment are to be treated separately; the denial of one does not require the grant of another.”10 “When the parties file cross motions for summary judgment, ‘we are entitled to assume that no evidence needs to be considered other than that filed by the

5 Id. Ex. C-4. 6 Docket No. 51. 7 FED. R. CIV. P. 56(a). 8 See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249 (1986); Clifton v. Craig, 924 F.2d 182, 183 (10th Cir. 1991). 9 See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986); Wright v. Sw. Bell Tel. Co., 925 F.2d 1288, 1292 (10th Cir. 1991). 10 Buell Cabinet Co., Inc. v. Sudduth, 608 F.2d 431, 433 (10th Cir. 1979). 3 parties, but summary judgment is nevertheless inappropriate if disputes remain as to material facts.’”11 III. DISCUSSION “FOIA was enacted to enable the public to examine government records.”12 “The general rule under FOIA is that a person is entitled to copies of a federal agency’s records upon making a request that ‘reasonably describes such records’ and that complies with required procedures for such requests.”13 However, certain categories of records are exempt from disclosure.14 Relevant

here are Exemptions 5, 6, and 7(C). Exemption 5 exempts from disclosure “inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters that would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency.”15 This exemption “protects documents that would be covered by any privilege that an agency could assert in a civil proceeding. One such privilege is the deliberative process privilege, which shields ‘documents reflecting advisory opinions, recommendations and deliberations [comprising] part of a process by which governmental decisions and policies are formulated.’”16 To fall under this exemption, “[p]rivileged documents must be both predecisional and deliberative.”17 Generally, purely factual materials are not privileged under

11 Atl. Richfield Co. v. Farm Credit Bank of Wichita, 226 F.3d 1138, 1148 (10th Cir. 2000) (quoting James Barlow Family Ltd. P’ship v. David D. Munson, Inc., 132 F.3d 1316, 1319 (10th Cir. 1997)). 12 Trentadue v. FBI, 572 F.3d 794, 796 (10th Cir. 2009). 13 Id. (quoting 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A)(i)). 14 Id. 15 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5). 16 Trentadue v. Integrity Comm., 501 F.3d 1215, 1226 (10th Cir.

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Williams v. US Department of Justice, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-us-department-of-justice-utd-2019.