United States v. Deming
| Citation | 19 F.2d 697 |
| Decision Date | 02 May 1927 |
| Docket Number | No. 4527.,4527. |
| Parties | UNITED STATES ex rel. STOWELL v. DEMING et al., Civil Service Com'rs. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (District of Columbia) |
E. C. Stowell and A. H. Putney, both of Washington, D. C., for appellant.
Peyton Gordon and L. A. Rover, both of Washington, D. C., for appellees.
Before MARTIN, Chief Justice, and ROBB and VAN ORSDEL, Associate Justices.
This is an appeal from a judgment of the lower court dismissing a petition in mandamus, filed by relator against the civil service commissioners of the United States, to compel them to furnish relator a list of the temporary employees in the federal departmental service, or to permit relator himself to examine the pertinent official records in their possession.
The petition alleges that the relator is a citizen of the United States, and defendants are the civil service commissioners of the United States; that the relator possesses, in common with all other citizens, an inalienable right to be informed, or to be put in a position where he can inform himself, as to the names of all persons holding office or employment under the United States, except employees whose connection with the government must be kept secret for reasons of public policy, and that it is his right as a citizen to be informed as to the workings and operation of the civil service system of the United States; that it is one of the duties of the civil service commissioners to keep a list of all employees under the so-called classified service of the United States, including a record of the homes of all temporary employees in the departmental service in the city of Washington, and that the office of the civil service commission is the only office in which all of these names are to be found; that on March 24, 1926, relator demanded of the defendants officially that they either furnish him a complete list of the temporary employees at that time in the federal departmental service, or permit relator to examine the pertinent official records in their possession; that relator sought this information because it has been said that the Chief of the Bureau of Efficiency "has prostituted the appointing power of his office," whereas it is the duty of the commissioners to watch over the application of the merit principle; that the commissioners have refused to grant either alternative of relator's request. Wherefore relator prays for a writ of mandamus to compel them either to furnish the list requested by relator or to permit relator to examine the pertinent records for himself.
The defendants answered, admitting that relator had made the demands upon them alleged in the petition, and admitting that the office of the civil service commission is the only office in which all of the names of the employees under the classified service of the United States are to be found, but alleging that these records are kept on separate and individual cards approximating about 500,000 in number, and that to furnish relator the lists demanded by him would impose such labor upon their employees as to interfere with the orderly transaction of their duties, and also that many of the records contain confidential information, which should not be made public; that the demand of relator for leave to himself examine "the pertinent records" is vague and indefinite, and cannot be granted without at the same time disclosing confidential information, which in the...
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