Department of the Interior v. Klamath Water Users Protective Association

Summary

Justice Souter, writing for a unanimous Court, held that communications between Indian Tribes and the Department of the Interior concerning competing claims to scarce water did not qualify as inter-agency or intra-agency communications under FOIA Exemption 5. The Tribes were advocating their own interests at the expense of competing claimants, rather than functioning like disinterested agency consultants. The federal trust relationship did not supply an unwritten exemption from disclosure. The Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit without deciding whether outside consultants’ communications generally qualify under Exemption 5 or whether the documents were protected by civil discovery privileges. There were no separate opinions.