Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Tony B. Jobe, Esquire v. National Transportation Safety Board
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 20-30033 · judgment June 17, 2021
Before the decision, about 2.8× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a Fifth Circuit decision below, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition).
Questions presented
Exemption 5 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides that federal agencies need not release privileged “inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5).
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Whether FOIA’s Exemption 5 includes an unwritten “consultant corollary,” under which documents prepared by private, outside consultants are deemed “intra-agency memorandums or letters.”
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Whether any “consultant corollary” in FOIA Exemption 5 could ever render “intra-agency” the communications between an agency and (1) employees of a private, regulated company with an economic interest in the agency’s actions; or (2) the representative of a foreign government.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Naomi Jean Scotten
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
For respondent
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage
Proceedings
- Jan 10 2022Petition DENIED.
- Dec 15 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/7/2022.
- Dec 13 2021Reply of petitioner Tony B. Jobe, Esquire filed. (Distributed)
- Nov 29 2021Brief of respondent National Transportation Safety Board in opposition filed.
- Oct 28 2021Brief amicus curiae of the Cato Institute filed.
- Oct 08 2021Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 29, 2021.
- Oct 07 2021Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 28, 2021 to November 29, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
- Sep 24 2021Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 28, 2021)