Flattmann Law - March 2020

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desk of Grady PAGE 1 Life, Liberty, and the Pursuits of James Madison PAGE 1 The Science Behind Gut Feelings PAGE 2 Celebrating National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Green Velvet Cheesecake Bars PAGE 3 Influential Freedom of Information Act Lawsuits PAGE 4 The Freedomof Information Act, commonly referred to as FOIA, has been a crucial part of the democratic system for decades. It was designed to improve public access to governmental records, but unfortunately, it doesn’t always work as intended. Inmost cases, requests are only answered if a lawsuit is filed. Nevertheless, FOIA has had a crucial role inmany high-profile legal cases. Here are a couple of the most significant ones in American history. A JOURNALIST’S 16YEARS IN COURT California-based journalist Seth Rosenfeld has had some serious contention with the FBI. In 1985, he filed his first lawsuit against the FBI for ignoring his requests for information about the Berkeley protests of the 1960s. The case was eventually settled in 1996, and Rosenfeld was awarded $560,000 in fees. In their settlement agreement, the FBI agreed to be more thorough with FOIA requests.

DIGGING FOR THE TRUTH FOIA Lawsuits That Changed How Americans Participate in Democracy

Rosenfeld filed a second lawsuit in 2007 accusing the FBI of withholding information during former President Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Five years later, he was awarded $479,459 in attorney fees. Rosenfeld is known for having some of the longest-pending FOIA requests and has received over 300,000 pages of FBI documents since the 1980s. THE SCOMM SCANDAL In a landmark FOIA settlement concluded in 2013, the federal government paid $1.2 million to settle a suit brought by several civil rights groups over the Secure Communities (SCOMM) Immigration and Customs Enforcement program. The litigation exposed a plan to create a multi-agency database focused on collecting DNA, a person’s gait, and iris scans. When evidence was uncovered during the litigation, governors of NewYork, Illinois, and Massachusetts tried to opt their states out of

the program, but the Department of Homeland Security determined SCOMMmandatory, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights. The case also changed how the government is required to identify, collect, and produce data for all FOIA requests. Thanks to FOIA and these important cases, the people’s right to government information (and honesty) will continue to progress in America’s democracy.

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