Coronavirus Challenges Force Slowdowns in DC FOIA Litigation

Lawyers for federal agencies say in court filings that staff are struggling to process Freedom of Information Act requests as they work remotely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Jacqueline Thomsen, Nat’l Law J., Ma. 27, 2020

Public records litigation making its way through Washington, D.C.’s federal court is slowing down as officers tasked with combing through the documents work from home or are cut off from accessing databases that house the records.

In court filings made in recent days in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, lawyers representing several different federal agencies have laid out the difficulties Freedom of Information Act officers are facing in responding to court-ordered deadlines. Some are asking judges to adjust or stay deadlines, and the filings indicate that plaintiffs are agreeing to the temporary delays.

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