County of Madison, New York v. United States Department of Justice, County of Madison, New York v. United States Department of Justice

COFFIN, Chief Judge.

We consider in these appeals whether the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, requires that government documents relating to the settlement of a lawsuit involving the government be disclosed, or whether they may be instead withheld either under exemption five of the Act — the privileged inter- or intra-agency exemption 1 — or under a broader equitable exemption based on public policy principles.

I

This case arises out of the actions of three groups of parties: the United States, the Oneida Indian Nation, and the counties of Oneida and Madison, New York…