universal-rights

Filing a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain US federal records can be a frustrating experience. Particularly since the attacks of September 11, 2001 - attacks which occurred six and a half years ago, as of this writing - the government's policy has been to deny such requests, if there is any credible reason for doing so.

Yet even before 9/11, the FOIA has been steadily weaked by the courts, under the relentless pressure of federal agencies which find the FOIA to be an unwanted burden. Records may be available under the FOIA, but the FOIA requester will have to file suit to get them. This is often the case for prisoners seeking evidence for post conviction relief.

We have litigated or participated in the litigation of about a dozen FOIA cases, against the CIA, FBI, DOJ, US Army, State Dept, and others. These cases may take many years to resolve, but there is often no other way to obtain the government records. We are glad to take these kinds of cases but they tend to be lengthy and costly endeavors, to the surprise of many people who contact us.

Copyright Paul Wolf, 2008. All Rights reserved.