Freedom of information act appeals

The Freedom of Information Act or FOIA gives the right to request access to federal agency records or information.  This is very important because many times Service members do not have access to all the records but at the same time they have the burden of proof to show that they are entitled to relief. Generally, the U.S. Government enjoys the presumption of regularity and that public officials act in good faith. One way to meet this burden is to show records or documents that public officials did not comply with their own regulations. There are however numerous exemptions. If your Freedom of Information Act request is denied, you may consider appealing it.

Generally, there are 9 exemptions that authorize the U.S. Government to withhold information. They are:

1. classified information for national defense or foreign policy
2. internal personnel rules and practices
3. information that is exempt under other laws
4. trade secrets and confidential business information
5. inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters that are protected by legal privileges
6. personnel and medical files
7. law enforcement records or information
8. information concerning bank supervision
9. geological and geophysical information

There are also exclusions. Exclusions involve:

         1.   ongoing investigations

         2.   informant records

         3.   foreign intelligence and counter-intelligence, or international terrorism records - when they are classified.

You can learn more about FOIA here. 

You can read about general tips for filing a FOIA request here.