Campbell v. U.S. Dep't of Justice

• Decision Date: 28 September 2015
• Docket Number: Civil Case No. 14–1350 (RJL)
• Citation: 133 F.Supp.3d 58
• Parties: Eric Campbell, Plaintiff, v. United States Department of Justice et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

133 F.Supp.3d 58

Eric Campbell, Plaintiff,

v.United States Department of Justice et al., Defendants.

Civil Case No. 14–1350 (RJL)

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Signed September 28, 2015

Eric Campbell, Youngstown, OH, pro se.

Kenneth A. Adebonojo, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

RICHARD J. LEON, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Eric Campbell brings this action pro se against the United States Department of Justice, Criminal Division ("defendant"); Kenneth Courter in his individual and official capacity as the Chief of the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA")/Privacy Act Unit; Office of Information Policy ("OIP"); the Director of OIP, Melanie Ann Pustay; and Sean R. O'Neill in his individual and official capacity as the OIP Chief Administrator for failure to disclose records, pursuant to the FOIA and Privacy Act.¹ See generally Compl. [Dkt. # 1]. This case comes before the Court on defendant's Motion for Summary Judgement [Dkt. # 16] ("Def.'s Mot."). Upon review of the parties' pleadings, the relevant law, and the entire record herein, this Court GRANTS defendant's motion and DISMISSES this case.

BACKGROUND

The facts of this case are not unique. Indeed, this is the fifth case recently resolved in this District challenging the government's withholding of all documents related to court-authorized wiretaps in pending drug conspiracy cases in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Plaintiffs in all five cases are incarcerated at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio, and three, including plaintiff in this case, are co-defendants in a case charging them with conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. See United States v. Gilliam, 12–cr–00093 (W.D.Pa.); Def.'s Mem. of P. & A. in Supp. of Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J. 4 [Dkt. # 16] ("Def.'s Mem."). In June of this year, Judge Boasberg dismissed a suit brought by Anthony Ellis, see Ellis v.Dep't of Justice, 110 F.Supp.3d 99, 2015 WL 3855587 (D.D.C.2015) ; in July, Judge Kollar–Kotelly dismissed a suit brought by Juan Gordon, Gordon v. Courter, 118 F.Supp.3d 276, 2015 WL 4602588 (D.D.C.2015) ; in August, Judge Walton dismissed a suit brought by Lamont Wright, Wright v. Dep't of Justice, 121 F.Supp.3d 171, 2015 WL 4910502 (D.D.C.2015) ; and in September, Judge Mehta dismissed claims brought by Randee Gilliam, Gilliam v. Dep't of Justice, 128 F.Supp.3d 134,2015 WL 5158728 (D.D.C.2015).² Although these four cases present nearly identical questions of law and fact, this Court has independently considered the arguments offered in this case. Perhaps not surprisingly though, this Court finds the reasoning in Ellis ,Wright ,Gordon, and Gilliam convincing and does not reach a different conclusion.

On May 10, 2013, plaintiff filed a FOIA request addressed to the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division, seeking "a copy of the Title III interception of electronic communication approval letters and all other documents that are a part of the electronic surveillance for [one] telephone number[ ]" with which plaintiff allegedly communicated. Def.'s Mem. 4. Plaintiff was not the subscriber of this telephone number. See Cunningham Decl. ¶ 5 [Dkt. # 16–2]. Defendant responded on July 15, 2013, advising plaintiff that, "to the extent that any responsive records existed, they were exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3)." Id. ¶ 6. That FOIA exemption applies to documents which must be withheld pursuant to another statute—in this case, Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510 –2521. Id.

On July 28, 2013, plaintiff appealed defendant's decision to OIP. Id. ¶ 7. On December 30, 2013, OIP affirmed the Criminal Division's refusal to conduct a search because any documents identified would be properly withheld under FOIA Exemption 3. Id. ¶ 8. Plaintiff filed this suit on August 8, 2014 alleging that defendant failed to properly respond to his FOIA request, see Compl. 1–2, and claiming, inter alia, that the records requested had been disclosed through discovery in his criminal case. Cunningham Decl. ¶ 9. Although defendant had initially refused to conduct a search for documents, in response to this suit, defendant searched for records responsive to plaintiff's request in two records systems: (1) the database used to track federal prosecutors' requests for permission to apply for court-authorization for wiretaps under Title III ("the Title III request tracking system") and (2) the database containing archived emails of Criminal Division employees ("Enterprise Vault"). Id. ¶ 10. The records identified through these searches were withheld in full under Privacy Act Exemption (j)(2), 5 U.S.C. § 552a(j)(2) and FOIA Exemptions 3, 5, 6, and 7(C); id. § 552(b)(3), (5), (6), and 7(C). Id. ¶¶ 21–38. Defendant now moves for summary judgment.

LEGAL STANDARD

A court will grant summary judgment if "the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). Courts review an agency's response to a FOIA request de novo, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B), and "FOIA cases typically and appropriately are decided on motions for summary judgment," Petit–Frere v. U.S. Atty's Office for the S. Dist. of Fla., 800 F.Supp.2d 276, 279 (D.D.C.2011), aff'd per curiam, No. 11–5285, 2012 WL 4774807, at *1 (D.C.Cir. Sept. 19, 2012). To prevail on summary judgment, an agency must demonstrate that it conducted a search reasonably designed to uncover responsive documents, that any materials withheld fall into a FOIA statutory exemption, and that it disclosed all reasonably segregable, nonexempt material. SeeReliant Energy Power Generation, Inc. v. Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm'n, 520 F.Supp.2d 194, 200 (D.D.C.2007).

Summary judgment may be based solely on information provided in an agency's supporting affidavits or declarations if they "describe the documents and the justifications for nondisclosure with reasonably specific detail, demonstrate that the information withheld logically falls within the claimed exemption, and are not controverted by either contrary evidence in the record [or] by evidence of agency bad faith." Military Audit Project v. Casey, 656 F.2d 724, 738 (D.C.Cir.1981). "To successfully challenge an agency's showing that it complied with the FOIA, the plaintiff must come forward with specific facts demonstrating that there is a genuine issue with respect to whether the agency has improperly withheld ... agency records." Span v. Dep't of Justice, 696 F.Supp.2d 113, 119 (D.D.C.2010) (internal quotation marks omitted).

DISCUSSION

Defendant seeks summary judgment in this action, arguing that the search conducted was adequate under both FOIA and the Privacy Act and that all the documents uncovered were properly withheld in full under exemptions to each Act. Def.'s Mem. 4. Defendant supports this position with a declaration made by John E. Cunningham III, a Trial Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, who is assigned to the FOIA and Privacy Act Unit, a component of the Office of Enforcement Operations ("OEO"). Cunningham Decl. ¶ 1. I address each argument in turn.

I. Adequacy of Search

"The adequacy of an agency's search is measured by a standard of reasonableness and is dependent upon the circumstances of the case." Weisberg v. Dep't of Justice, 705 F.2d 1344, 1351 (D.C.Cir.1983) (internal quotation marks omitted). An agency "fulfills its obligations under FOIA if it can demonstrate beyond material doubt that its search was reasonably calculated to uncover all relevant documents." Ancient Coin Collectors Guild v. Dep't of State, 641 F.3d 504, 514 (D.C.Cir.2011) (internal quotation marks omitted). There is no requirement that an agency search every record system, but the agency must conduct a good faith, reasonable search of those systems likely to contain the requested information. Oglesby v. Dep't of Army, 920 F.2d 57, 68 (D.C.Cir.1990). An agency may prove adequacy through affidavits or declarations that explain in reasonable detail the scope and method of its search. SeePerry v. Block, 684 F.2d 121, 126 (D.C.Cir.1982). However, if the record "leaves substantial doubt as to the sufficiency of the search, summary judgment for the agency is not proper." Truitt v. Dep't of State, 897 F.2d 540, 542 (D.C.Cir.1990).

Unfortunately for plaintiff, upon review of defendant's declaration, I conclude that defendant's search was reasonable and adequate. Plaintiff's FOIA request seeks a copy "of the Title III interception of electronic communication approval letters and all other documents that are a part of the electronic surveillance for the following [one] telephone number[ ]." Cunningham Decl. Ex. A.

As defendant's declarant explains, documents responsive to this request were likely to be located in two places: (1) the Title III request tracking system and (2) the Criminal Division's email archive. Cunningham Decl. ¶ 10. Indeed, according to defendant's declaration, the Title III request tracking system is the Criminal Division's "only official information management system for Title III applications submitted to OEO by federal prosecutors across the U.S." Id. ¶ 11. Each of these locations was searched, and the search conducted was reasonably calculated to identify responsive documents—the Title III request tracking system was searched for references to the telephone number plaintiff identified and the plaintiff's name, and the email archive was searched for relevant communications between Criminal Division attorneys and the prosecutor who submitted the wiretap request. Id. ¶¶ 15, 18.

Plaintiff does not argue that the FOIA search conducted by defendant was unreasonable; rather, a liberal reading of his opposition reveals three challenges to the adequacy of the search; none of which have merit. Plaintiff first contends that defendant erred when it refused to...