| The Freedom of Information
Reform Act of 1986 created an entirely new mechanism for protecting certain
especially sensitive law enforcement matters under new subsection (c) of
the FOIA. These three special protection provisions, referred to as record
"exclusions," expressly authorize federal law enforcement agencies, for
especially sensitive records under certain specified circumstances, to
"treat the records as not subject to the requirements of [the FOIA].
The (c)(1) exclusion authorizes
federal law enforcement agencies to shield the very existence of records
of ongoing investigations or proceedings by excluding them entirely from
the FOIA's reach. To qualify, the records must be those which would otherwise
be withheld in their entireties under Exemption 7(A). Further, they must
relate to an "investigation or proceeding [that] involves a possible violation
of criminal law." An agency determining whether it can employ (c)(1) protection
must consider whether it has "reason to believe" that the investigation's
subject is not aware of its pendency and that the disclosure of the very
existence of the records "could reasonably be expected to interfere with
enforcement proceedings."
The "(c)(2) exclusion" provides
that whenever informant records are requested by a third party according
to the informant's name or personal identifier, the agency may treat the
records as not subject to the requirements of [the FOIA] unless the informant's
status as an informant has been officially confirmed.
The "(c)(3) exclusion pertains
only to certain law enforcement records that are maintained by the FBI.
Comments
relating to this page only |