True or false
True or false- Sean is the only attorney on the appeals staff who has been with the office more than ten years.
What is False?
These are the initials of the individual who now holds the record for the largest number of appeal submissions by a single person in a single year.
Who is J.T.?
One or more appeals attorneys are in charge of coordinating regular meetings with this Committee, the members of which discuss the classification status of records whose withholding has been affirmed pursuant to FOIA Exemption 1.
What is the Department Review Committee?
True or false- in response to a "no records" response to a request for processing notes, the appeals attorney followed up with the component on appeal to verify whether it had a practice of creating request processing notes. In response to which the component stated "No offense intended- but this is a waste of our time."
What is True?
Name one of the two components where former OIP Appeals Attorneys are the heads of the FOIA Offices.
What are the Criminal Division or the Antitrust Division? (I am not certain whether Angie Cecil is at that level in the Civil Division, but perhaps).
True or false- Melanie was at one point an appeals attorney.
True
Approximately 45-50% of all OIP appeals originate with this component.
What is the FBI?
Most of the appeals staff spent approximately two weeks reviewing and redacting approximately 125,000 records pertaining to the confirmation hearings for this Supreme Court Justice.
Who is Justice Gorsuch?
BONUS question:
This initiative, which has been carried out by members of the Appeals Staff and Compliance Staff over the last several years, has resulted in a demonstrable improvement in the FOIA operations of several DOJ components.
What is the Component Improvement Initiative?
This Appeals Attorney was the most recent to welcome a new baby into the world.
Who is Jonathan Breyan?
True or false- approximately 40% of FOIA Appeals result in some type of supplemental release or remand.
What is false? (15-20%)
This was the only agency to receive more appeals than OIP in FY 2017.
What is the Department of Homeland Security? (5386 appeals received).
Beginning in late 2016, Appeals Attorneys, with Carmen's assistance, took over the responsibility for reviewing this type of request, ultimately reducing the backlog from hundreds of these requests almost down to zero.
What is an MDR (Mandatory Declassification review) request?
This component has argued on several occasions that its Special Agent Field Manual can be withheld per DPP because it is in a constant state of revision.
What is the DEA?
This person was the first full-time teleworker on the appeals staff.
Who is Patrick DeKlotz?
True or false- one of the duties that an Appeals Attorney assumes when first hired by OIP is FOIA Counselor.
What is false?
This was the last year in which OIP received 4000 appeals.
What is FY 2001? (in FY 2018 there is a realistic chance that we will reach this milestone)
OIP Attorneys often have a significant role in drafting these when the government loses on one or more issues in a FOIA case in federal court.
What is an appeal recommendation?
Up until just a couple of years ago, this was the only DOJ component that reviewed its own FOIA appeals.
What is the U.S. Parole Commission?
This former OIP employee was arrested for spying for Cuba just ten days after the 9/11 attacks (she worked for DIA at the time).
Who is Ana Montes? (NOTE: I have no idea if she ever worked on appeals, but it is an interesting fact nonetheless)
True or false- OIP last issued a print version of the FOIA Guide in 2011.
What is false?
Since OIP began focusing on backlog reduction in FY 2007, the appeals staff has failed to reduce its backlog in this many fiscal years.
What is once? (FY 2012)
Before any agency can invoke this in response to a FOIA request, it must first be approved by Matt Hurd or Sean O'Neill.
What is a FOIA exclusion?
An attorney from this component once informed a member of the Appeals Staff that a letter sent to an AUSA by a private defense counsel was "classic" attorney work product.
What is EOUSA?
This former appeals attorney was once punched in the face by a random stranger on the way back to the Office from a trip to a component. HINT: He left DOJ for a number of years but has since returned to work in another component's FOIA Office.
Who is Ken Hendricks?