A Multi-User Database of Freedom of Information Act Litigation in Federal District Courts

《信息自由法》（Freedom of Information Act， FOIA）允许向个人和组织公开政府记录，同时允许政府机构根据规定的豁免拒绝公开文件。当请求者和机构无法通过内部行政程序解决《信息自由法》争议时，可以就《信息自由法》案件向联邦法院提出上诉，由联邦法院裁决该机构不公布请求记录的决定。该项目将编制一个在联邦地区法院提起诉讼的《信息自由法》请求数据库。本研究将通过建立2001年至2016年美国地方法院《信息自由法》豁免判决数据库，分析《信息自由法》诉讼的动态和结果。本项目通过对机构决策的司法监督进行分析，从理论和经验上将联邦法院置于政府对信息的支配和公众对信息的获取的结合点。其结果将是建立一个公开的数据库，汇集地方法院对《信息自由法》诉讼的裁决，以便对《信息自由法》案件及其结果进行研究，这将对公众、学者和从业人员具有重要意义。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) enables the release of government records to individuals and organizations, while allowing government agencies to refuse release of documents based on delineated exemptions. When a requester and agency cannot resolve a FOIA dispute through internal administrative processes, FOIA cases can be appealed to the federal courts for adjudication of the agency’s decision not to release requested records. This project will compile a database of FOIA requests that are litigated in Federal District Courts. This research will analyze FOIA litigation dynamics and outcomes through the creation of a database of FOIA exemption decisions in U.S. District Courts from 2001 through 2016. This project theoretically and empirically situates federal courts at the juncture of government dominion over information and the public’s access to information by providing analysis of judicial monitoring of agency decision making. The result will be a publicly available database that compiles District Court decisions on FOIA litigation, allowing for research of FOIA cases and outcomes that will be of import to the general public, scholars, and practitioners.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.