Legal Definitions - Vaughn index

A Vaughn index is a detailed document that a government agency must create when it is sued for refusing to release records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Freedom of Information Act is a law that gives the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency.

When an agency withholds documents in response to a FOIA request and the requester sues, a court may order the agency to produce a Vaughn index. This index serves several critical purposes:

• It provides a comprehensive list of every document, or portion of a document, that the government agency is choosing to keep secret.
• For each item on the list, the agency must provide a specific justification, explaining precisely why it believes that document or part of it is legally exempt from public disclosure under FOIA.
• The index is typically supported by sworn statements (affidavits) from agency officials, attesting to the accuracy of the information.

The main goals of a Vaughn index are to:

• Force the government agency to carefully review and justify its decision to withhold each piece of information.
• Allow the court to effectively evaluate whether the government's reasons for withholding are legitimate under FOIA law, without the judge having to sift through potentially sensitive documents blindly.
• Provide the person requesting the information with enough detail about the withheld documents and the reasons for their secrecy to allow them to challenge the government's decision effectively in court.

This process is named after the court case Vaughn v. Rosen, which established the requirement for such an index.

Examples of a Vaughn Index in Action:

• Environmental Group Request:

  An environmental advocacy organization files a FOIA request with the Department of Interior for all internal communications regarding a proposed new oil pipeline's environmental impact assessment. The Department releases some documents but withholds others, stating they contain "privileged internal policy discussions." When the organization sues the Department for the withheld documents, the court orders the Department to produce a Vaughn index. This index would list each specific email, memo, or report withheld, describe its general content (without revealing the sensitive parts), and explain precisely why the Department believes it falls under a FOIA exemption (e.g., "Document 1: Email from Director to Deputy Director discussing strategic options for pipeline approval, withheld under Exemption 5 for deliberative process privilege"). This allows the judge to assess the validity of the claim and the environmental group to understand the basis of the withholding.

• Journalist's Investigation:

  An investigative journalist requests records from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concerning the agency's surveillance activities related to a specific domestic extremist group. The FBI responds by releasing heavily redacted documents and withholding many others entirely, citing national security and law enforcement exemptions. The journalist files a lawsuit to compel the release of the withheld information. The court, recognizing the need for transparency and judicial oversight, orders the FBI to create a Vaughn index. This index would detail each withheld document or redaction, providing a general description (e.g., "Document 7: Field agent's report on surveillance target X, withheld under Exemption 7(E) to protect law enforcement techniques and procedures") and the specific legal justification. This allows the judge to review the FBI's claims without compromising sensitive information, and helps the journalist understand the scope of the withheld material to argue for its release.

• Public Interest Group on Government Spending:

  A non-profit organization focused on government accountability requests financial audit reports and related communications from the Department of Energy concerning a multi-billion dollar clean energy project. The Department releases some high-level summaries but withholds detailed financial breakdowns and internal risk assessments, claiming they contain "proprietary business information" from contractors and "trade secrets." When the organization sues, the court directs the Department of Energy to prepare a Vaughn index. This index would itemize each specific financial record, contract detail, or risk assessment document being withheld. For each item, it would provide a general description (e.g., "Document 12: Section of contract with Vendor Y detailing proprietary software licensing fees, withheld under Exemption 4 for trade secrets and confidential commercial information") and the precise legal reason for nondisclosure. This enables the court to scrutinize whether the claimed exemptions genuinely apply to protect legitimate proprietary information or if the public interest in transparency outweighs the government's withholding.