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Simple English definitions for legal terms

Vaughn index

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A quick definition of Vaughn index:

A Vaughn index is a list of all the documents that the government wants to keep secret in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case. Each document on the list has a reason why the government thinks it should not be disclosed. The Vaughn index helps the court decide if the government has a good reason for keeping the documents secret. It also helps the person who requested the information understand why the government is not sharing certain documents.

The Vaughn index is named after a court case called Vaughn v. Reese, which happened in 1973.

A more thorough explanation:

A Vaughn index is a list of all the documents that the government wants to keep secret in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. Each document on the list is accompanied by a statement explaining why the government wants to keep it secret. The Vaughn index is supported by one or more affidavits.

The Vaughn index serves three purposes:

  1. It forces the government to carefully consider all the material it wants to keep secret.
  2. It helps the court decide whether the government's reasons for keeping the material secret are valid.
  3. It gives the person who requested the information as much information as possible about why the government wants to keep certain documents secret.

The name "Vaughn index" comes from a court case called Vaughn v. Reese, which was decided in 1973 by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Imagine that a journalist files a FOIA request for all the emails between a government official and a lobbyist. The government responds by providing some of the emails, but withholds others, claiming that they contain confidential information that should not be made public. The government must then create a Vaughn index listing all the emails it is withholding and explaining why it wants to keep them secret. The journalist can then challenge the government's decision to withhold certain emails by arguing that the government's reasons are not valid.

vauderie | vavasor

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19:11
Nah, the fucked up thing about therapists is they try and make you think your parents are your enemy 99% of the time and really they should be telling you that your parents have almost no effect on the rest of your life. If they can get you to keep focusing on your parents they can keep making money.
19:12
Yeah, my life really does flow in about 5 years periods.
19:12
My crypto also flows in 5 day epochs too.
19:16
what do you do with your days as an unemployed crypto guy? do you play an instrument or something
19:47
please lawd
19:47
forgive me
19:47
its time to go back to tha old me
19:50
this is what i feel like when i get one single drill question right
19:50
when u get one wrong ;(
therapist slander detected
1a2b3c4d26z
20:37
Anyone got any polymarket locks
1a2b3c4d26z
20:37
Is anyone in here cool like fr cool
1a2b3c4d26z
20:37
Like watch college football cool
1a2b3c4d26z
20:37
Or like
1a2b3c4d26z
20:38
Frat
1a2b3c4d26z
20:39
Sorry guys I'm bored trying to get my Berkeley essay to 4 pages
20:40
no way they want four pages that’s crazy
20:41
bitches wanna be different sooo bad 😴
1a2b3c4d26z
20:42
Technically they want 3 to be completely fair to the powers that be, so I'm really trying to push out to 3
1a2b3c4d26z
20:42
But it's 1/2 inch margins
20:44
assuming it was 2 already, you’ve totally got 3 double spaced pages in you
20:45
should I watch the quirky umich dean videos? i feel like all of you have seen them except me but I can’t work up any enthusiasm for the idea
1a2b3c4d26z
20:54
I like Dean Z not sure why she gets slandered sometimes
1a2b3c4d26z
20:54
I would say yeah, they're helpful. But they can verge on unproductive and stress-inducing if you watch enough of them (especially the application read-through ones)
21:07
okay I’ll check them out
21:40
hey so where do i see my LSAC GPA bc i know they calculate it differently
21:40
sorry new to dis
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