Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (1986) Cited 235,794 times 38 Legal AnalysesHolding that summary judgment is not appropriate if "the dispute about a material fact is ‘genuine,’ that is, if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party"
Celotex Corp. v. Catrett
477 U.S. 317 (1986) Cited 215,959 times 40 Legal AnalysesHolding that a movant's summary judgment motion should be granted "against a [nonmovant] who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial"
Department of Justice v. Tax Analysts
492 U.S. 136 (1989) Cited 819 times 1 Legal AnalysesHolding that documents are only “agency records” within the meaning of FOIA if the agency both “create or obtain” the documents and “control” them
Department of State v. Washington Post Co.
456 U.S. 595 (1982) Cited 731 timesHolding that the terminology of "personnel and medical files and similar files" must be read broadly
SafeCard Servs., Inc. v. SEC
926 F.2d 1197 (D.C. Cir. 1991) Cited 1,696 timesHolding that information in law enforcement records identifying private individuals is exempt from disclosure unless release is necessary to "confirm or refute compelling evidence that the agency is engaged in illegal activity"
Brayton v. Office of the United States Trade Representative
641 F.3d 521 (D.C. Cir. 2011) Cited 569 timesHolding that even if the plaintiff was eligible to receive attorney fees, he was not entitled to an award because the government's initial position refusing the FOIA request was legally correct
Larson v. Department of State
565 F.3d 857 (D.C. Cir. 2009) Cited 596 timesHolding that information provided by CHS that could reveal the identity of intelligence source was properly withheld
Vaughn v. Rosen
484 F.2d 820 (D.C. Cir. 1973) Cited 1,963 times 1 Legal AnalysesHolding that an indexing system was necessary in FOIA cases to " assure that a party's right to information is not submerged beneath governmental obfuscation and mischaracterization, and permit the Court system effectively and efficiently to evaluate the factual nature of disputed information."
Sussman v. U.S. Marshals
494 F.3d 1106 (D.C. Cir. 2007) Cited 553 timesHolding that the Act grants access to only those records that are “about” the requestor, “not to all information pertaining to them that happens to be contained in a system of records”
Military Audit Project v. Casey
656 F.2d 724 (D.C. Cir. 1981) Cited 1,214 timesHolding that the CIA did not waive the applicability of Exemption 1 to all classified information relating to a subject by voluntarily releasing some formerly classified information about that subject
Rule 56 - Summary Judgment
Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 Cited 328,115 times 158 Legal AnalysesHolding a party may move for summary judgment on any part of any claim or defense in the lawsuit
Section 552 - Public information; agency rules, opinions, orders, records, and proceedings
5 U.S.C. § 552 Cited 12,151 times 556 Legal AnalysesHolding that the Court's entering of a “Stipulation and Order” approving the parties' terms of dismissal did not amount to a “court-ordered consent decree” that would render the plaintiff the prevailing party
Section 1746 - Unsworn declarations under penalty of perjury
28 U.S.C. § 1746 Cited 9,994 times 17 Legal AnalysesPermitting the use of declarations instead
Section 552a - Records maintained on individuals
5 U.S.C. § 552a Cited 4,421 times 47 Legal AnalysesFinding that it is a Department of Justice component that has as its principal function the enforcement of criminal laws includ[ing] correctional authorities
Section 1103 - Powers and duties of the Secretary, the Under Secretary, and the Attorney General
8 U.S.C. § 1103 Cited 815 times 4 Legal AnalysesGranting the Attorney General power to "establish such regulations" and "review . . . administrative determinations in immigration proceedings"