Redacted Information Under FOIA’s Exemption Provisions

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Jesus Vidal-Martinez v. DHS

Case No.: 22-2445

Officials: Sykes, Chief Judge, and Brennan and Pryor, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Redacted Information Under FOIA’s Exemption Provisions

Vidal-Martinez, a non-citizen, faced three arrests for driving under the influence. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detained him and initiated deportation proceedings. In response, Vidal-Martinez filed a habeas petition, contending that his detention was unconstitutional because it hindered his ability to defend himself against the drunk driving charges. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) temporarily transferred Vidal-Martinez to county custody “until the completion of the criminal matter,” and then he was released to ICE detention. After being convicted of DUI and serving a 236-day jail sentence, he was returned to ICE custody. However, since there was no substantial evidence indicating that he posed a flight risk or a threat to the community, the district court granted Vidal-Martinez’s habeas petition and ordered his release.

Following this, Vidal-Martinez submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, as per 5 U.S.C. 552, seeking the disclosure of documents related to his custody transfer from ICE. ICE provided 561 pages of responsive documents, some of which had certain information redacted. Vidal-Martinez contested ICE’s redactions. ICE subsequently provided a Vaughn index and a declaration from its FOIA officer, offering legal justifications for each redaction. These justifications included attorney-client privilege, work product privilege, deliberative process privileges, and the protection of government employee identifying information.

Vidal-Martinez argued that ICE had engaged in criminal conduct by transferring him to Indiana, making the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege applicable. However, the district court granted ICE summary judgment, a decision that the Seventh Circuit upheld. The court found no factual basis in the record supporting allegations of criminal conduct or misconduct by ICE, and the district court had an adequate factual foundation to assess ICE’s redactions.

Affirmed.

Decided 10/24/23

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