CRD Narrowing Letter
This is in further response to your March 19 2026, Freedom of Information Act request seeking access to documents pertaining to complaints, reports, or referrals received by the Civil Rights Division alleging violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1389 from November 1, 2009, to the present..
A request under the FOIA must be one that “reasonably describes [the requested] records.” 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3). Courts have explained that the rationale for this rule was not intended to reduce government agencies to full-time investigators on behalf of requesters, or to allow requesters to conduct “fishing expeditions” through agency files. Immanuel v. Sec’y of the Treasury, No. 94-884, 1995 WL 464141, at 1 (D. Md. Apr. 4, 1995), aff’d 81 F. 3d 150 (4th Cir. 1996).
Additionally, a request for which the post-search effort of review, redaction and inspection creates an unreasonable burden on an agency fails the “reasonably described” requirement of 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A). Power the Future v. White House Council on Environmental Quality, 2025 WL 2206947 (D.D.C. Aug. 4 2025)(holding that while the Agency might be able to identify the documents requested, the post-search results of a still broad request of a high-ranking officer, without restriction on subject matter, imposes an unreasonable burden as it would likely implicate numerous FOIA exemptions and require time consuming internal review and consultation.) AFGE v. US. Dep 't of Commerce, 907 F.2d 203, 209 (D.C. Circ. 1990)(holding that while plaintiffs requests might identify the documents requested with sufficient precision to enable the agency to identify them. . .it is clear that these requests are so broad as to impose an unreasonable burden upon the agency, because the agency would have to locate, review and redact a vast quantity of material).
Therefore, you may wish to narrow your request to identify a topic, subject matter or issue that would allow CRT to conduct a reasonable search for the records you are seeking and respond substantively. If you would like to discuss narrowing your request, please contact my staff at CRT.FOIArequests@usdoj.gov. Please reference the FOIA/PA No. above in any communications with the Civil Rights Division about your request. Please note: We are not denying any records at this time. Once we have received your response with narrowed search terms, we will continue processing this request.
If you are not satisfied with the Civil Rights Division’s determination in response to this request, you may administratively appeal by writing to the Director, Office of Information Policy (OIP), United States Department of Justice, 441 G Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20530, or you may submit an appeal through OIP's FOIA STAR portal by creating an account following the instructions on OIP’s website: https://www.justice.gov/oip/submit-and-trackrequest-or-appeal. Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted within 90 days of the date of my response to your request. If you submit your appeal by mail, both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.” Please reference the FOIA/PA No. above in any correspondence with OIP.
Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877- 684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769. Please reference the FOIA/PA No. above in any correspondence with OGIS. Thank you for your interest in the Civil Rights Division.
