Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media Tip Sheets
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media Tip Sheets

Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied

Wednesday, February 3, 2021, By News Staff
Share
faculty researchFreedom of Information ActTransactional Records Access Clearinghouse

The news media are powerful players in the world of government transparency and public accountability. One important tool for ensuring public accountability is through invoking transparency mandates provided by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In 2020, news organizations and individual reporters filed 122 different FOIA suits to compel disclosure of federal government records—more than any year on record according to federal court data back to 2001 analyzed by the FOIA Project.

FOIA is an indispensable tool of democracy because it requires the government to release records to the public. FOIA requesters often have to sue to get the government to comply with this law. However, as this report from the FOIA Project, part of Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), shows, there is a growing backlog on adjudicating FOIA cases and delays in receiving public information. At the end of 2020, there were 1,683 FOIA cases pending in the federal courts, the highest on record. Many of those cases have been pending for over five years without a ruling.

The news media is one of the most important groups of FOIA requesters and litigators. Delays on FOIA cases are effectively undermining the public’s right to know and hampering the news media’s ability to get information for timely stories. Because of these delays, for example, FOIA requesters seeking records about Trump administration policies often will not obtain them until long after President Trump has left office. And unless matters change, the same will be true for FOIA requesters seeking records about the new Biden administration’s policies.

Austin Kocher portrait

Austin Kocher

Austin Kocher is a faculty fellow with TRAC, a research institute that uses FOIA requests to study the federal government. Key areas of Kocher’s current research at TRAC include federal immigration detention, enforcement and deportation, the immigration court system and trends within the federal criminal and civil courts.

Kocher offers the following perspective:

“FOIA is becoming undermined by endless delays. Federal officials increasingly ignore these deadlines, forcing FOIA requesters to take them to court. As a result, the number of FOIA lawsuits have been rising because federal agencies were often not responding at all. Now we see that federal judges are increasingly failing to rule in a timely manner when requesters are forced to file suit to enforce FOIA requirements. This presents a significant barrier to government transparency and accountability.”

Members of the media looking to request an interview with TRAC researchers should contact:

Joshua Grossman 
Director of Media Relations, Division of Communications and Marketing
T 202.227.9250 | jmgrossm@syr.edu

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Graduate Students Bring Physics to Local Classrooms With Outreach Program
    Friday, May 27, 2022, By Dan Bernardi
  • COVID-19 Update: Effective Wednesday, June 1, Masking Level Returns to Yellow
    Friday, May 27, 2022, By News Staff
  • Preparing Students for a Life of Success
    Friday, May 27, 2022, By Caroline K. Reff
  • Alumni Draw on Their Military Experience in Their Roles as Teachers
    Thursday, May 26, 2022, By Martin Walls
  • Bringing ‘CSI’ Into the Classroom
    Thursday, May 26, 2022, By Dan Bernardi

More In Media Tip Sheets

Vice Admiral responds to Biden’s trip to Asia

If you are looking for an expert in military and intelligence issues, please see comments from retired Vice Admiral Robert Murrett regarding President Biden’s trip to Asia and the mention of the “United States would intervene militarily if China attempts to…

Media Tip Sheet: Consequences of China Lockdown

As the intense lockdowns continue in China, one of our Syracuse University professors weighed in on possible consequences they may have on the economy. Dimitar Gueorguiev is an associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and…

Architecture Expert and Researcher of Abortion Clinics On the Future of Access

Last week, a draft decision for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked from the Supreme Court and shows that five justices are preparing a judgment that would strike down Roe v. Wade. For reporters covering this ongoing story,…

“Inclusion Should Not Be an Afterthought”: Education and Legal Experts Weigh In on Plan to Update Federal Regulations

For the first time in 45 years, the U.S. Education Department is planning to update federal mandates for how schools and colleges must accommodate students with disabilities. The department is soliciting public comments about how current regulations can be improved…

Response to Putin’s Speech

As we heard earlier today, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had no choice but to invade Ukraine in his Victory Day speech (CNN). Syracuse University’s Mark Jacobson has responded to this speech (see below). Jacobson is the assistant dean of Washington programs…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2022 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.