In
response to a FOIA request seeking a court docket for a specific case, a city
responded that it did not have any responsive records in its possession or
custody, and directed the requester to contact the agency most likely to have
responsive records (the county court system). After the requester sued the city alleging FOIA violations,
the circuit court ruled in favor of the city, finding that the city did not
violate FOIA when it did not produce records that were not in its possession.
After
the requester appealed, an Illinois Appellate Court upheld the circuit
court’s ruling in favor of the city. Tidwell
v. City of Alton. The Appellate Court rejected the requester’s argument
that the city could obtain the sought records by downloading them (from another
agency’s website) and providing them to the requester, because FOIA does not
require a public body to turn over records that the public body does not have and does not
normally retain. Because a public body cannot improperly withhold records that
it does not maintain, the Appellate Court determined that the city did not
violate FOIA in response to the request.
Post Authored by Eugene Bolotnikov, Ancel Glink
