Person's Own FOID Card Records Not Releasable Under FOIA
Two individuals submitted
separate FOIA requests to the Illinois State Police (ISP) seeking records
relating to their own Firearm Owners’ Identification (FOID) cards. ISP denied
both requests, citing FOIA exemption 7.5(v), which exempts from disclosure the
names and information of people who have applied for or received FOID cards
under the Firearm Owner’s Identification Card Act. Both requesters then sued ISP,
claiming it denied their FOIA requests in violation of FOIA. The
circuit court and the Appellate Court ruled in favor of the
requesters, finding the requested records were not exempt from disclosure
because the requesters were seeking their own FOID records, and ordered ISP to disclose each requester's FOID card application and ISP’s FOID card revocation letters previously sent to
the requesters.
On appeal, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed and ruled in favor of the ISP, finding that FOIA section 7.5(v) is a blanket exemption prohibiting the disclosure of all FOID card information under FOIA, with no exception for requesters who seek their own information. The Supreme Court also rejected the Appellate Court’s argument that an individual may consent to the disclosure of their own FOID card information. Because there is no federal or state law that requires ISP to disclose the requested FOID information, the plaintiffs could not consent to the disclosure of otherwise exempt private FOID card information. Hart v. Illinois State Police.
Post Authored by Eugene Bolotnikov, Ancel Glink
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