prepare a memorandum that adheres to the relevant provision of FOIA and the Privacy Act| Law
David is law professor at the University of Chicago. The American Bar Association (“ABA”) invited David to its annual symposium in New York City on Administrative Law. The ABA scheduled the symposium for December 24th. David planned to stay in New York the night of the symposium and return to Chicago the next day. He, therefore, reserved a room at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan. He booked a 5:30 am flight on American Airlines, from Chicago to New York City.
David arrived at Midway Airport in Chicago on December 24th at 4:59 am. Within a few minutes, he picked up his ticket and boarding pass. When David reached the security checkpoint, he noticed a long line of people waiting to clear the security checkpoint.
The employees from a Federal agency, the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”), staffed the security checkpoint. The TSA agents checked for identifications, tickets, and boarding passes. They also guided passengers and their baggage through the scanning machines, and they manually checked some of the baggage. The scanning machines and the TSA agents checked for items that were not allowed on the airplanes.
Initially, David waited patiently, but his patience soon turned to fidgeting and aggravation. David realized that the line was moving slowly and there was a possibility that he would miss his flight. When David arrived at the point to be checked, a TSA agent, Ken, noticed that David was sweating and fidgeting.
Ken manually checked David’s bag. When Ken opened the bag, he noticed a metallic object with a sharp point on one end. Before David could explain that the object was a laser pointer that he had planned to use during his presentation at the symposium, Ken detained him.
Ken locked David in a room at the airport for three hours. During this time, no one asked David to explain the object. During this time, however, the TSA agents cleared the security checkpoint of passengers and examined David’s checked baggage and the metallic object taken from David’s baggage.
At the end of the three-hour period, Ken entered the room and told David that he could leave. Ken had concluded that the object was a laser pointer and it would not cause any harm to the airline passengers or crew. However, because of the three-hour detention, David missed his flight, and he missed his opportunity to make his presentation before the Administrative Law Symposium.
Based on comments from Ken before and during the detention, David believes that he was detained because of his race. David wrote a letter to the TSA complaining about the three-hour detention. Upon further inquiry into Ken’s activities, the TSA discovered that Ken had only detained African-American passengers over the past two years. David is an African-American. The TSA terminated Ken because the TSA investigation found that he had discriminated against passengers based on race.
You are a paralegal at the law firm that has represented David in the past. Before taking David’s case, your supervising attorney wants to file a request under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) to get more information about TSA agents and their activities. Your supervising attorney asks you to prepare a memorandum that discusses whether any of the following records would be exempt from disclosure under FOIA:
Ken’s medical records,
training manual that instructs TSA agents on how to detect suspicious activity,
records related to Ken’s termination proceedings, and
records related to documented incidents of TSA agents discriminating against passengers.
Please prepare a memorandum that adheres to the following:
Discusses whether records from each of the categories noted above would be exempt from disclosure under the FOIA. Where appropriate, the analysis must consider the Privacy Act.
Cites to the relevant provision of FOIA and the Privacy Act.
Does not exceed two pages
