National Archives and Records Administration v. Allan J. Favish et al. (541 U.S. 157)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 30, 2004 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 541 U.S. 157 · 124 S. Ct. 1570
- Decided
- March 30, 2004
- Term
- October Term 2003
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Kennedy
- Issue area
- Privacy
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court. This case requires us to interpret the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U. S. C. § 552. FOIA does not apply if the requested data fall within one or more exemptions. Exemption 7(C) excuses from disclosure “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes” if their production “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” § 552(b)(7)(C). In Department of Justice v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of Press, 489 U. S. 749 (1989), we considered the scope of Exemption 7(C) and held that release of the document at issue would be a prohibited invasion of the personal privacy of the person to whom the document referred. The principal document involved was the criminal record, or rap sheet, of the person who himself objected to the disclosure. Here, the information pertains to an official investigation into the circumstances surrounding an apparent suicide. The initial question is whether the exemption extends to the decedent’s family when the family objects to the release of photographs showing the condition of the body at the scene of death. If we find the decedent’s family does have a personal privacy interest recognized by the statute, we must then consider whether that privacy claim is outweighed by the public interest in disclosure. I Vincent Foster, Jr., deputy counsel to…
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