DATA AND DOCUMENTS THROUGH FOIA

Mark J. Rochester
Senior News Director_Investigations
Detroit Free Press
SEE THE ‘NOTES’ FIELD FOR
NARRATIVE ON THESE
SLIDES
WHAT IS FOIA?
 WHEN TO USE FOIA

• Don’t FOIA unnecessarily

• Keep in mind, “the right tool for
the right job”
• State (or federal) government
agencies are only required to
provide existing records
KNOW THE OPEN RECORDS LAW IN YOUR STATE
SCALE YOUR REQUEST APPROPRIATELY
BE SYSTEMATIC
State
Response
Ohio
No records
Arizonia
Called to verify info, checking records
California AG says "Given the nature of the records
requested, we are not able to confirm or deny such
Oregon AG returned only the 'Law enforcement summary
document.'
Washington Any responsive records, to the extent they exist, are
exempt from disclosure
New Mexico Denied request with no specifics: "the OAG
Criminal Affairs cannot confirm the existence of any

Background: Michigan’s largest autism therapy

provider has been accused of running a
Medicaid fraud scheme targeting poor and
ethnic communities, particularly in Metro
Detroit. The Michigan Attorney General's
Office has an ongoing investigation into the
company.
 FOIA DOCUMENTS & DATA TIP SHEET

CREATED A TIP SHEET ON FOIA AND RELATED ISSUES

http://bit.ly/FOIA_ROCHESTER
• Check in on stories that may
appear to be routine.
• Makes sure all the right questions
are being asked and appropriate
documents
EVEN ON STORIES
THAT MIGHT SEEM
ROUTINE, IT IS
IMPORTANT TO
STRATEGIZE ON FOIA
• Better to cover all bases than miss
an opportunity.
Managing the Pushback
Conversations:
What records do they have?
In what format? What is easiest/quickest/cheapest?
Can I come review?
 BEHIND ALL DOCUMENTS AND DATA ARE STORIES ABOUT PEOPLE …

https://www.freep.com/videos/marketplace/real-estate/detroit/2018/04/13/police-video-shows-atv-crash-detroit/33759577