FOIA Delayed Is FOIA Denied

The purpose of Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is to provide transparency in government so that the people of Michigan can fully participate in the democratic process. But that purpose is thwarted if government officials do not produce requested documents in a timely manner. In Grand Rapids in particular, FOIA requests have been known to take over a year to fulfill, even when the amount of staff time needed to fulfill the request is only a few hours. In March 2023 the ACLU of Michigan submitted a FOIA request to the Grand Rapids Police Department that the department estimated would take only 2.25 hours to fulfill, but would not be processed for 8-10 months. After attempts to speed up the city’s response time were unsuccessful, in September 2023 we filed a lawsuit seeking a ruling that the city’s practices violated FOIA. In November 2024, the circuit court ruled in favor of the City, essentially deciding that there is no time limit on how long a municipality can take to provide records sought under FOIA. The ACLU appealed, and the case is now pending in the Michigan Court of Appeals. (ACLU of Michigan v. City of Grand Rapids; ACLU Attorneys Miriam Aukerman, Dayja Tillman, and Dan Korobkin; Cooperating Attorneys Robert Riley, Benjamin VanderWerp, Lauren Babbage, and Jalen Farmer of Honigman LLP; and cooperating attorney Brad Springer.)