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MuckRock

HOPE 2020

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Four steps to FOIA Mastery

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

5,000,000 pages of documents

80,000 requests filed

15,000 agencies

all 50 states and federal

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

What are you

transparency questions?

I find any opportunity to make sessions interactive goes a long way towards increasing the energy level. Be prepared for silence until you warm people up. If nobody is talking, quickly shift to raising hands:

If the audience is journalists or other frequent requesters, ask:

— “First off, how many of you have filed at least one request in the past year? How many have filed 5, 10, 20?”

If filed:

“How many had the process go really smoothly, just get everything you want quickly?”

“How many have dealt with it being a really slow process?”

“How many have felt the agency is a black box you just don’t know what to request?”

“How many have had unfair rejections they’ve had to overcome?”

If not filed:

“Who has heard the process is really frustrating?”

“Who has heard it takes forever to get documents?”

“Who has heard agencies tend to just make up exemptions?”

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

I find any opportunity to make sessions interactive goes a long way towards increasing the energy level. Be prepared for silence until you warm people up. If nobody is talking, quickly shift to raising hands:

If the audience is journalists or other frequent requesters, ask:

— “First off, how many of you have filed at least one request in the past year? How many have filed 5, 10, 20?”

If filed:

“How many had the process go really smoothly, just get everything you want quickly?”

“How many have dealt with it being a really slow process?”

“How many have felt the agency is a black box you just don’t know what to request?”

“How many have had unfair rejections they’ve had to overcome?”

If not filed:

“Who has heard the process is really frustrating?”

“Who has heard it takes forever to get documents?”

“Who has heard agencies tend to just make up exemptions?”

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I find any opportunity to make sessions interactive goes a long way towards increasing the energy level. Be prepared for silence until you warm people up. If nobody is talking, quickly shift to raising hands:

If the audience is journalists or other frequent requesters, ask:

— “First off, how many of you have filed at least one request in the past year? How many have filed 5, 10, 20?”

If filed:

“How many had the process go really smoothly, just get everything you want quickly?”

“How many have dealt with it being a really slow process?”

“How many have felt the agency is a black box you just don’t know what to request?”

“How many have had unfair rejections they’ve had to overcome?”

If not filed:

“Who has heard the process is really frustrating?”

“Who has heard it takes forever to get documents?”

“Who has heard agencies tend to just make up exemptions?”

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

What is�FOIA?

What to request

Writing the request

Follow through

COVID-19

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

What is a Freedom of Information request?

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Federal law allowing access to government records, or catchall term used for all ~53 state and jurisdictional laws.

Allows the public* access to records, typically unless those records are specifically exempt.

Generally does not allow you to ask more open ended questions or even get clarification about those records.

* Can vary by jurisdiction. Some states bar out of state requesters, Louisiana bars minors, many states bar the incarcerated.

Freedom of Information

Act (FOIA) request

(Foy-uh or Eff-Oh-Eye-Aye)

So one of the most important things to keep in mind about Freedom of Information work, no matter how you pronounce it, is that it’s fundamentally a law about access to records. It’s the mechanism by which individuals are entitled to access its government’s records. Similar to Jeopardy!, you can ask whatever question you want, but it is has to be in the form of a document.

Technically, FOIA is the federal law, with each state, DC, and some territories having their own laws. Some people use “FOIA” more broadly, as both a noun and a verb or to refer to local requests. Other people get annoyed or pedantic, particularly police departments which seem to generate particular glee about pointing out that FOIA is a federal law, and actually they’re subject to the Public Records Act, which they then promptly violate anyway.

But whether federal or state, remember that you come into the process with questions, but you have to turn those questions into specific requests for documents, data, or other records.

Side bar: Court records, open meetings, legislative records, etc. are subject to other laws, and FOIA can complement these other laws.

It is a shiny, magical superpower, and we should be grateful for our place in human history.

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

July 4, 1966

Grudgingly signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

1974

Post Watergate, FOIA amendments added Privacy Act, gave FOIA teeth

Caveats

Nine major exemptions, including a catchall exemption b(3) that allows other laws to exempt material.

Freedom of Information

Act (FOIA)

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Modeled on federal law,

in general, but tend to be:

less helpful with fee categories and appeal processes.
faster but less consistently applied at the local level.
Watch out for creative “exemptions”

Detailed guides to state laws live at muckrock.com/place.

State public records laws

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Modeled on federal law,

in general, but tend to be:

less helpful with fee categories and appeal processes.
faster but less consistently applied at the local level.
Watch out for creative “exemptions”

Detailed guides to state laws live at muckrock.com/place.

State public records laws

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Research, or

What to Request:

Turn your questions into

ideas for records

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What would a middle manager do?

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Mandatory reporting

Most government activity requires putting something in writing.

Procedure and process

Think through the paperwork needed to implement a program.

Public admission

Has the government publicly signaled

that paperwork is being generated?

“We’re getting reports.”

“We’re tracking incidents.”

In collaboration

Often multiple agencies are involved.

Who is sharing information with whom?

What would a middle manager do?

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

How to know what documents to ask for. How do I know what reports, or daily briefings etc are called and exist?

I find any opportunity to make sessions interactive goes a long way towards increasing the energy level. Be prepared for silence until you warm people up. If nobody is talking, quickly shift to raising hands:

If the audience is journalists or other frequent requesters, ask:

— “First off, how many of you have filed at least one request in the past year? How many have filed 5, 10, 20?”

If filed:

“How many had the process go really smoothly, just get everything you want quickly?”

“How many have dealt with it being a really slow process?”

“How many have felt the agency is a black box you just don’t know what to request?”

“How many have had unfair rejections they’ve had to overcome?”

If not filed:

“Who has heard the process is really frustrating?”

“Who has heard it takes forever to get documents?”

“Who has heard agencies tend to just make up exemptions?”

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Resources for infiltrating

the mind of a government agency

• Agency’s own website

• Agency records retention schedule, system of records

• MuckRock requests and agency pages

• DocumentCloud

• FOIA Mapper

• Google

• Search tricks.

• Alerts: “public records”; “Freedom of Information”

News articles and press releases.
Art of Access, David Cuillier and Charles N. Davis

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Agency’s Own Website

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Agency records retention schedules and systems of records

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MuckRock.com/foi/

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MuckRock.com/agency/

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DocumentCloud

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FOIA Mapper

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FOIA Mapper

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Google!

Try PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, CSV, PDF
Use agency domain or leave just .gov
Works with or without keywords

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Writing the Request

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

The more specific and the more evidence you have that a document exists, the better.

Include:

A citation of the law.
Specific document requests, not questions.
Enough detail for agency to locate information.
The name of the document.
Who has the document.
References to the record by the agency or news media.

Requests should be specific.

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Cite every possible law.
Include extraneous arguments or background
Bury the request in legalese.
Forget that there’s a human on other side of the process.

Requests should NOT:

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

What makes a good request?

Clearly defined
Set date parameters
Explain your status
Cite how you know it exists
Be creative
Keep it to one page whenever possible

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Assume it will get passed around

Understand that the left hand often has no idea what the right is doing

Agencies usually love talking on the phone!

Try to think like a FOIA officer

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

THE FOLLOW THROUGH

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Assume good faith
Let them know when you expect a response
Follow up, get an estimated completion date
Interview the response: It can lie, too
Appeal!

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Appealing can be very simple

Agencies are supposed to give the most generous possible reading.

However, if you’re planning to litigate, this is last chance to get arguments in there.

Check out RCFP and MuckRock state guides:

https://www.muckrock.com/place�https://www.rcfp.org/open-government-guide/

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Appealing can be very simple

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Key Considerations

Make sure they cite valid exemptions.
Just because part of a document is exempt doesn’t mean all of the document is exempt. Ask for “segregable” information
You will often know the law better than they do
Sometimes material is a “may” withhold, and higher level folks will overrule.

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

If it first you don’t succeed,

get creative.

Does another agency possibly have the same records? Would they release them?
People can request their own files with the Privacy Act.
FERPA is bane of requesters — but students can get your own info.
Sources could waive privacy/request their own files

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MuckRock

@MuckRock / MuckRock.com

Keep the conversation going:�muckrock.com/slack�

News collaborations:

beryl@muckrock.com