Case 1:12-cv-00127-BJR Document 40 Filed 03/04/15 Page 12 of 22
records they are withholding are law enforcement records,” notwithstanding Plaintiff’s
“assumptions and suppositions” to the contrary. Id.
An agency withholding records pursuant to Exemption 7 must demonstrate, as a
threshold matter, that its withheld records were “compiled for law enforcement purposes.” Pratt
v. Webster, 673 F.2d 408, 416 (D.C. Cir. 1982). But when an agency “specializes in law
enforcement, its decision to invoke [E]xemption 7 is entitled to deference.” Campbell v. DOJ,
164 F.3d 20, 32 (D.C. Cir. 1998). Specifically, the D.C. Circuit has recognized that
an agency whose principal mission is criminal law enforcement will more often
than not satisfy the Exemption 7 threshold criterion. Thus, a court can accept less
exacting proof from such an agency that the purpose underlying disputed
documents is law enforcement. This less exacting judicial scrutiny of a criminal
law enforcement agency’s purpose in the context of the FOIA Exemption 7
threshold is further bolstered by Congress’ concern that inadvertent disclosure of
criminal investigations, information sources, or enforcement techniques might
cause serious harm to the legitimate interests of law enforcement agencies.
Id. at 418.
In line with this more deferential approach, the D.C. Circuit set forth “two critical
conditions that must be met for a law enforcement agency to pass the Exemption 7 threshold.”
Pratt v. Webster, 673 F.2d at 420. “First, the agency’s investigatory activities that give rise to
the documents sought must be related to the enforcement of federal laws or to the maintenance of
national security.” Id. To demonstrate this “nexus” requirement, the agency must identify “a
particular individual or a particular incident as the object of its investigation and the connection
between that individual or incident and a possible security risk or violation of federal law.” Id.
The existence of a possible security risk or violation of federal law establishes that an agency
acted “within its principal function of law enforcement, rather than merely engaging in a general
monitoring of private individuals’ activities.” Id.
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