Morley v. CIA, No. 14-5230 (D.C. Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseJefferson Morely, a journalist and news editor appealed for a second time from the district court’s denial of his request for attorney’s fees and costs under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(E)(i), as a prevailing party. Morely submitted a FOIA request to the CIA for all records related to a CIA officer. Morely believed that the information on the officer could shed new light on President Kennedy's assassination. The district court concluded that the public-benefit factor weighed strongly against a fee award because the actual documents produced by the CIA provided little if any public benefit. The court concluded, however, that the district court improperly analyzed the public-benefit factor by assessing the public value of the information received rather than the potential public value of the information sought. Accordingly, the court vacated and remanded again.
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