Sunshine of Our Love: Why FOIAs are an Investigator's Best Friend
This week is Sunshine Week, which promotes the importance of government transparency and allowing citizens access to public records.
Sunshine Week, held on March 12 to 18, was started in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors, now called the News Leaders Association. This week, news organizations and civic organizations across the country have been hosting events and trainings promoting the public’s right to know.
A key law promoting government transparency is the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Enacted in 1967, the law provides the public with the right to request access to records from federal agencies. Federal agencies are required to disclose any requested information unless it falls under one of nine exemptions established by Congress. The law was created to keep U.S. citizens informed of the actions of their government and help curb corruption. Additionally, individual states have their own laws governing citizens’ right to obtain public records from state and local agencies. The individual state laws have different names and the details of each vary, but they’re all often referred to informally as “FOIAs.”
Public records laws are particularly important to me, both as a former journalist and current professional investigator. I regularly use these laws to obtain critical information for investigations.
For example, law enforcement officers often respond to incidents that do not result in a case being filed in court. However, local law enforcement agencies maintain records about these points of contact, which are often considered public record and can be obtained through a public records request. These documents can summarize previous episodes of threats or violence while also report biographical and other important information.
My colleagues and I also submit FOIAs to city, state and federal agencies to further our efforts in cases related to assets searches, due diligence, litigation support and business intelligence.
Through public records requests submitted to various public bodies, we have learned:
An individual who was threatening our client had a history of self-mutilation, alcoholism and mental health issues; owned a firearm; made previous physical and verbal threats to family members and neighbors; and caused injuries to animals.
The police were called to a residence dozens of times over a one-month span with reports reflecting welfare checks of an adult female subject wielding a knife. Records indicated family members expressed concern to police about the subject’s mental health.
Numerous students made allegations of sexual harassment against a well-known professor at a public college.
A client's chief competitor was receiving preferential treatment from a government body in the procurement process of a multimillion-dollar public contract. As a result, the public body halted and restarted the bidding process.
The manager of a local business said in emails to a city agency that she needed police assistance because safety was out of control at a particular location of interest.
The financials a subject company submitted to the city as part of an RFP for a municipal-backed development.
The underlying applications select individuals and entities filed with the local liquor authority.
FOIAs can be submitted for a whole variety of reasons—even to advance a hobby. My 221B Partners colleague Chris Brenner, an avid hunter, submitted a FOIA request to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to determine how many hunting permits were issued per public hunting site for each season, compiling 20 pages of printouts into an Excel spreadsheet to analyze.