Question 1

In 2011,the Supreme Court said in AT&T v.FCC that FOIA Exemption ___ should not apply to companies.

Accepted Answer

In AT&T v. FCC, the Supreme Court held that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Exemption 7, which allows agencies to withhold records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, should not apply to companies. This ruling clarified that Exemption 7 is intended only to apply to government agencies and their law enforcement activities, not to private entities.

Question 2

Under the federal Freedom of Information Act,all of the following records are closed (not open for public inspection)except:

Accepted Answer

The federal Freedom of Information Act allows for the inspection of records regarding the ownership of private land, while it restricts access to materials related to national security, internal personnel records, ongoing law enforcement investigations, and individual and corporate income tax returns.

Question 3

The Supreme Court in 2011 in Milner v.Dept.of the Navy eliminated the "high/low" distinction from FOIA Exemption ___.

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court in 2011 in Milner v. Dept. of the Navy eliminated the "high/2" distinction from FOIA Exemption 2, which previously allowed agencies to withhold information related to internal personnel rules and practices in a broad manner.

Question 4

In Reno v.Condon,a 2000 decision,the U.S.Supreme Court upheld:

Accepted Answer

Reno v. Condon dealt specifically with the constitutionality of the Drivers Privacy Protection Act, which regulates the disclosure and sale of personal information collected by states from drivers. The Supreme Court ultimately upheld the Act, finding that it did not violate the Tenth Amendment or the Dormant Commerce Clause. Therefore, the correct answer is A)the Drivers Privacy Protection Act.

Question 5

The U.S.Supreme Court in 2004 extended the Freedom of Information Act's personal privacy exemption to protect family members from disclosure of photographs taken at the scene of a suicide.The case:

Accepted Answer

The National Archives and Records Administration v. Favish case involved a dispute over whether the Freedom of Information Act's privacy exemption allowed for the release of graphic photographs of Vince Foster's suicide to the plaintiff, a journalist seeking to determine if there was a possible conspiracy involved. The Court ultimately extended the privacy exemption to protect the privacy interests of family members who may be highly sensitive to the release of such photographs.

Question 6

In 2012,the Second Circuit said that the government may withhold certain redactions dealing with waterboarding as an interrogation method in what case?

Accepted Answer

The case in which the Second Circuit said that the government may withhold certain redactions dealing with waterboarding as an interrogation method is ACLU v. Dep't of Justice.

Question 7

"Glomarization" means that an agency:

Accepted Answer

Glomarization is a response used by agencies under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) when they cannot confirm nor deny the existence of a record. The name comes from a 1970s CIA operation named Glomar Explorer which used this tactic.

Question 8

The Government in the Sunshine Act applies to all of the following except:

Accepted Answer

The Government in the Sunshine Act applies only to federal agencies and not to state or local governments. Therefore, the Los Angeles City Council, a local government entity, is not subject to this act.

Question 9

The D.C.Circuit said that foreign government entities may obtain information under FOIA in what 2014 case?

Accepted Answer

In the 2014 case of All Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition v. Department of Defense, the D.C. Circuit ruled that foreign government entities may obtain information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), establishing a precedent for international access to U.S. government records under this law.

Question 10

A broad right for individuals to examine their own federal government records was created by the:

Accepted Answer

The Privacy Act of 1974 established a broad right for individuals to access and examine their own federal government records. This law also requires that government agencies maintain accurate and up-to-date records and limits the amount of personal information that can be shared without the individual's consent.

Question 11

In a case called In re Cheney,a federal appeals court followed up an earlier Supreme Court decision by holding that records of a presidential task force were:

Accepted Answer

The answer of In a case called In re Cheney,a...

Question 12

The "Buckley Amendment" requires that:

Accepted Answer

The "Buckley Amendment," officially known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), encompasses all these provisions. It grants parents the right to access their children's educational records, allows students over 18 or attending a postsecondary institution to access their own records, and restricts the disclosure of student records to unauthorized individuals, thereby protecting the privacy of students' educational records.

Question 13

The Supreme Court ruled that the "Buckley Amendment" does not give individuals the right to sue schools that release their personal information in the case of:

Accepted Answer

The Buckley Amendment, also known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), pertains to the privacy of student education records. In Gonzaga University v. Doe, the Supreme Court ruled that FERPA does not create an individual right to sue schools for violations of the law, meaning that individuals cannot sue schools that release their personal information. Therefore, B is the correct answer.

Question 14

Under the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996,federal agencies are directed to respond to formal FoI requests within:

Accepted Answer

Under the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996, federal agencies are directed to respond to formal FOI requests within ten working days.

Question 15

The D.C Circuit said in 2013 that the CIA could not Glomarize requests for information about ______ since government officials had already discussed the issue in the press (ACLU v.CIA).

Accepted Answer

The D.C Circuit said in 2013 that the CIA could not Glomarize requests for information about drones since government officials had already discussed the issue in the press (ACLU v.CIA).

Question 16

In what 2013 case did the Supreme Court say that the Drivers Privacy Protection Act prohibits the use of certain data from state drivers' databases to solicit clients?

Accepted Answer

The case Maracich v. Spears (2013) dealt with the question of whether lawyers could use certain data obtained from state drivers' databases to solicit clients. The Supreme Court held that the Drivers Privacy Protection Act prohibited such use, except in certain limited circumstances.

Question 17

Under the OPEN Government Act of 2007:

Accepted Answer

The OPEN Government Act of 2007 reversed the presumption favoring government secrecy adopted after 9/11, made non-proprietary information held by many government contractors subject to the FoI Act, added ombudsmen to many government agencies to resolve disputes over requests for information, and established that agencies may not charge fees if they fail to meet the deadline for responding to FoI requests. Therefore, all of these options are correct.

Question 18

The Third Circuit said that the FOIA personal privacy exemption could apply to companies (later overturned)in the case of:

Accepted Answer

The Third Circuit held that the FOIA personal privacy exemption could apply to corporations in the case of AT&T Inc. v. FCC. This decision was later overturned by the Supreme Court, which held that the exemption applies only to individuals, not corporations.

Question 19

The Clery Act requires colleges to:

Accepted Answer

The Clery Act mandates that colleges and universities participating in federal financial aid programs maintain and disclose campus crime statistics and security information, including a daily log of criminal incidents.

Question 20

A journalist's constitutional right of access to government documents was established in the case of:

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is E because the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly grant journalists a special right of access to government documents beyond the public's right. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and similar state laws provide mechanisms for the public, including journalists, to request government records, but these laws are statutory rather than constitutional rights. Cases like New York Times v. U.S. (the Pentagon Papers case) dealt with the right to publish information without prior restraint, not a constitutional right to access government documents.

Quiz 9: Freedom of Information