Judicial decisions and related court records can be obtained directly from the courts but must usually be done so in person. FOIL does not apply to the judiciary. See Public Officers Law § 86[3].
Nevertheless, FOIL can still be quite helpful in obtaining judicial decisions and related court records. Besides the courts themselves, another source for case law records is the agency that was a party to the proceeding, such as the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) or the New York State Department of Health (DOH). Yet another source is the Office of the Attorney General (AG), who is responsible for representing state agencies and officials in litigation.
FOIL requests can be made to the specific state agencies that were named in a lawsuit or to the AG's office, which represented the state parties. Unless sealed by court order, pleadings and other documents that have been filed with the courts are public records and should be disclosed under FOIL if possessed by the agency. Because most documents, after commencement of the case, need only be served upon the parties' attorneys, the AG's office is likely to possess more of the court filings than the agency named in the lawsuit.
A FOIL request need only "reasonably describe" the records being sought. See Public Officers Law § 89[3](a). The agency's Records Access Officer is charged "to assist persons in reasonably describing records." 21 NYCRR § 1401.2(b)(2). The agency must conduct a diligent search for reasonably described records. See Public Officers Law § 89[3](a); 21 NYCRR § 1401.2(b)(7)(ii).
Be as precise as possible in describing the requested records. Give the full name of the court action or proceeding. If you know them, give the index number and/or any official or parallel citations to any decisions in the case. If any agency documents have referred to a court decision, make reference to those agency documents. Reasonably describe what records you are seeking.
Example #1
You have an upcoming Fair Hearing involving a claim of "good cause." You have seen a May 13, 1998 memorandum to ALJs, in which reference is made to an unreported lower court case entitled Sirota v. Hammons and Wing (Sup. Ct., New York County, April 21, 1997). See http://onlineresources.wnylc.net/FairHearingResources/showquestion.asp?faq=4&fldAuto=66.
You might make a FOIL request specifically for:
All decisions, orders, judgments and/or stipulations pertaining to the case of Sirota v. Hammons and Wing (Sup. Ct., New York County, April 21, 1997), including but not limited to the outcome of any appeals.
Example #2
You have an upcoming Fair Hearing involving a claim of "good cause." You heard or suspect that there is case law on the hotly contested issue of "good cause" determinations but you don't know the names or citations of any such cases. Your FOIL request may seek:
All court decisions, orders, judgments and/or stipulations pertaining to determinations of 'good cause' as that term is used in 18 NYCRR §§ 351.26 and 385.12.
Example #3
You lost a Fair Hearing involving a claim of "good cause" with regard to non-compliance with a Public Assistance work activity. You are preparing to commence a CPLR Article 78 proceeding in State Supreme Court. You have read the decisions in Earl v Turner, 303 A.D.2d 282, 757 N.Y.S.2d 255 (1st Dept. 2003), lv. denied 100 N.Y.2d 506, 763 N.Y.S.2d 812, 795 N.E.2d 38 (2003) and Matter of Dost v Wing, 16 A.D.3d 497, 792 N.Y.S.2d 105 (2d Dept. 2005).
A. You want to see the petitions in these two cases to help you prepare your own case. Your FOIL request might seek:
The Verified Petitions in Earl v Turner, 303 A.D.2d 282, 757 N.Y.S.2d 255 (1st Dept. 2003), lv. denied 100 N.Y.2d 506, 763 N.Y.S.2d 812, 795 N.E.2d 38 (2003) and Matter of Dost v Wing, 16 A.D.3d 497, 792 N.Y.S.2d 105 (2d Dept. 2005).
B. You want all the pleadings and memoranda of law that were filed in these two cases to help you brief your case and so you know what to expect in opposition from the state and local agencies. Your FOIL request might ask for:
All pleadings and supporting affidavits, affirmations and memoranda of law related to the following cases:
• Earl v Turner, 303 A.D.2d 282, 757 N.Y.S.2d 255 (1st Dept. 2003), lv. denied 100 N.Y.2d 506, 763 N.Y.S.2d 812, 795 N.E.2d 38 (2003), and
• Matter of Dost v Wing, 16 A.D.3d 497, 792 N.Y.S.2d 105 (2d Dept. 2005).
C. You obtained the pleadings and other court-related documents for Earl and Dost from the Online Resource Center [http://onlineresources.wnylc.net] but you wonder how subsequent cases have fared in light of these two decisions. You might make a FOIL request for:
1. All memoranda of law and other court documents which:
A. have been filed in judicial actions or proceedings involving any Public Assistance recipient's failure to comply with any work activity required under 18 NYCRR Part 385, and
B. have cited Earl v Turner, 303 A.D.2d 282, 757 N.Y.S.2d 255 (1st Dept. 2003), lv. denied 100 N.Y.2d 506, 763 N.Y.S.2d 812, 795 N.E.2d 38 (2003), and/or Matter of Dost v Wing, 16 A.D.3d 497, 792 N.Y.S.2d 105 (2d Dept. 2005).
2. All court decisions, orders, judgments and/or stipulations pertaining to the judicial actions or proceedings described in ¶ 1 above.
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