The American Civil Liberties Union of North California et al v. Federal Bureau of Investigation

Filing 135

ORDER REGARDING CASE MANAGEMENT REPORT. Signed by Judge Richard Seeborg on 5/15/15. (cl, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/15/2015)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES
UNION OF NORTH CALIFORNIA, et al.,

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Case No. 10-cv-03759-RS

Plaintiffs,

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ORDER REGARDING CASE
MANAGEMENT REPORT

v.

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FEDERAL BUREAU OF
INVESTIGATION,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

Defendant.
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Pursuant to the case management report jointly filed by plaintiffs the American Civil

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Liberties Union of Northern California, the Asian Law Caucus, and the San Francisco Bay

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Guardian, together with defendant the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), the FBI shall not

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be afforded a further opportunity to justify invocation of Exemption 7 with regard to the

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documents currently withheld under that exemption. As noted in the Court’s prior order, the FBI

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has failed at every juncture to demonstrate Exemption 7’s threshold requirement—that materials

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withheld and/or redacted under its subsections relate to a particular law enforcement purpose. A

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supplemental Vaughn index would not, therefore, serve to clarify Exemption 7’s applicability.

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Nor may the FBI now recast the material which it claimed exempt from disclosure under

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Exemption 7 as appropriately withheld under a different exemption.1
Regarding material withheld pursuant to Exemptions 2 and/or 5, the parties shall submit

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briefing as to the applicability of these exemptions and/or the adequacy of the FBI’s justifications

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for invoking them. The FBI shall file an opening brief of no more than twenty pages on or before

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This does not, however, apply to material for which the FBI has invoked both Exemption 7 and
another exemption.

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June 26, 2015. Plaintiffs may file an opposition of no more than twenty-five pages within

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fourteen days thereafter. The FBI may then file a reply of not more than five pages within seven

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days after that. The Court shall, thereafter, determine whether to set a hearing on these questions.

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For the purpose of efficiency, the issues surrounding Exemptions 2 and 5 shall be decided prior to

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consideration of a process for disclosing any materials deemed improperly withheld or redacted.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Dated: May 15, 2015
______________________________________
RICHARD SEEBORG
United States District Judge

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ORDER REGARDING CASE MANAGEMENT REPORT
CASE NO. 10-cv-03759-RS

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