E-mails to IJs re Metrics and Dashboard

Dear Mr. Hoppock:

Thank you for your e-mail correspondence. I’m happy to provide you with additional information to assist you with this and future FOIA requests to EOIR. Requester categories are outlined in 28 C.F.R. § 16.10 et seq. and the potential fees, if any, associated therewith. The regulations specify four requester categories: commercial use, educational institution, noncommercial scientific institution, and representative of the news media. For your convenience, I’m providing a hyperlink to the applicable regulation located here https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=587cd86f62b5950d06bb0d793b742e1d&mc=true&node=pt28.1.16&rgn=div5#se28.1.16_110. Note that the regulation does not separately provide for a “non-profit” requester category; however, the Department of Justice recognizes that not all requesters will fall into any of the specified categories. Those requesters, so-called “other” requesters, are entitled to two free hours of search time and up to one hundred pages of duplication without charge. See 28 C.F.R. § 16.10(d)(4).

Although you submitted this FOIA request through the MuckRock website, your request includes the disclaimer “[t]his request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests.” In that regard, to the extent MuckRock is considered a news media organization, your request filed through the MuckRock website does not qualify you as a representative of the news media.

To the extent you are making this request on behalf of DocuFreedom, Inc. and believe this qualifies you as a news media requester, you have not provided sufficient information to qualify DocuFreedom as a representative of the news media for purposes of this request. The standards for qualifying as a representative of a news media are outlined in 28 C.F.R. § 16.10(b)(6). A statement that DocuFreedom is engaged in “the requesting of documents from agencies such as EOIR and providing them to the public for free” does not meet the standard. Specifically, merely posting agency records without using editorial skills to turn the raw materials into a distinct work does not meet the standard. Id. Furthermore, the DocuFreedom website located at http://docufreedom.com/ does not show any posts later than March 2018, over 20 months ago. In that regard, you have not “demonstrate[d] a solid basis for expecting publication through that entity.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A); see also 28 C.F.R. § 16.10(b)(6).

If you would like to be considered a representative of the news media in future requests filed through the MuckRock website, then you must provide the organization of which you believe constitutes a news media organization and/or information sufficient to determine a solid basis for expecting publication through a news media entity for each request. See 28 C.F.R. § 16.10(b)(6). Without such information, we will presume that you are filing it on behalf of the Hoppock Law Firm for use in either the representation of the firm’s clients or for advertising/marketing purposes.

Alternatively, if you are asking for a waiver or reduction of fees, i.e., a so-called public interest fee waiver or reduction, you may seek a waiver of fees by submitting a written application demonstrating how disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. See 28 C.F.R. § 16.10(k). Such application must address all of the factors outlined in 28 C.F.R. § 16.10(k)(1)-(k)(2)(i)-(iii).

Finally, with respect to past FOIA requests, please note that a requester category is made on a case-by-case basis based on the requester’s intended use and the scope of the request. The standard is outlined in 28 C.F.R. § 16.10(b)(1) and past correspondence with you indicates that you have been notified of this standard. For some of your past requests, it is possible that you were designated a commercial use requester, but that fees associated with processing that request did not exceed $25, in which case you were not charged. See 28 C.F.R. § 16.10(d).

If you would like to submit an application for a public interest fee waiver or reduction, or have any additional comments, please feel free to submit your application and/or comments for our consideration. Alternatively, you are invited to amend the scope of your request to reduce the necessary processing time and potentially avoid fees notwithstanding your requester category designation.

In the meantime, we are conducting a search and will notify you of a cost estimate to process your request as-filed.

Sincerely,

Shelley M. O’Hara
Attorney Advisor (FOIA)
(703) 605-0275

Dear Mr. Hoppock:

Please clarify whether you are seeking a status update related to FOIA 2020-08776 (below in e-mail chain) or FOIA 2020-24486 (below in same e-mail chain). Once we receive clarification, we will provide you with a status update.

Sincerely,

Shelley M. O’Hara
Attorney Advisor (FOIA)
(703) 605-0275

Dear Mr. Hoppock:

Thank you for your inquiry. FOIA 2020-08776 was closed January 22, 2020.

Sincerely,

Shelley M. O’Hara
Attorney Advisor (FOIA)
(703) 605-0275

Dear Mr. Hoppock:

A copy of your request FOIA 2020-24486 is attached and appears to be open and pending in our database.

Sincerely,

Shelley M. O’Hara
Attorney Advisor (FOIA)
(703) 605-0275