On Mar. 31, 2017, plaintiff Cora Currier sued the defendant agencies under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Cora Currier is an employee of First Look Media Works and a staff reporter for The Intercept, an online news and journalism platform.
Currier's complaint sought disclosure of agency records by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of State (DOS), and Department of Justice (DOJ) (along with the DOJ's component Offices of the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Legal Counsel, Legislative Affairs, and U.S. Marshals Service). Specifically, Currier sought the disclosure of records concerning the development and execution of travel restrictions barring nationals of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States pursuant to President Trump's Jan. 27
Executive Order 13769.
The complaint alleged that on Feb. 1, 2017, Currier submitted a FOIA request to the defendant federal agencies seeking copies of records concerning the analysis and implementation of the Executive Order. Currier requested expedited processing on all requests.
The complaint further alleged that, as of the date of filing, Currier had not received a substantive response from any of the defendant agencies and had exhausted all applicable administrative remedies. Additionally, the complaint alleged that not only had DHS, DOS, and DOJ failed to expedite the processing of Currier's requests, the agencies had also exceeded the generally-applicable 20-day statutory deadline for the processing of any FOIA request. Currier sought an order requiring DHS, DOS, and DOJ to produce the requested records in their entirety, to provide for expeditious proceedings in the action, and to award Currier costs and attorneys' fees.
On Mar. 31, the case was assigned to Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Curley.
(On Mar. 6, 2017, the President rescinded the Jan. 27 Executive Order and replaced it with a narrower one,
Executive Order 13780.)
On May 19, plaintiff filed an amended complaint. The amended complaint alleged that on Apr. 3, 2017, Currier submitted a FOIA request to the defendant federal agencies (including the Department of Defense (DOD), which the amended complaint added to the suit as a defendant) seeking copies of records concerning the analysis and implementation of the second Executive Order. The complaint further alleged that, as with the first round of FOIA requests, the defendant federal agencies had not yet responded. Currier sought an order requiring DHS, DOS, DOD, and DOJ to produce the requested records in their entirety, to provide for expeditious proceedings in the action, and to award Currier costs and attorneys' fees.
On July 20, Currier moved for a preliminary injunction, requesting that the Court order the defendant agencies to complete the expedited processing of her FOIA request by no later than Sept. 5.
On Aug. 24, Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley heard oral argument on the preliminary injunction motion. That day, the court ordered the parties to meet and confer regarding the government's rolling document productions.
The parties' Jan. 11, 2018 status report noted that several defendants were making monthly rolling productions, while others had completed production. The latest status reports from February 2018 through June 2020 stated the same. The parties will continue to file monthly reports.
Declassified versions of some documents released by the government are available through this case page, below. This case is ongoing.
Ava Morgenstern - 04/21/2018
Virginia Weeks - 11/08/2018
Ellen Aldin - 06/22/2020
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