Chapter 6 - Administrative Law
Practical Internet Exercise 6-1:
Legal Perspective—The Freedom of Information Act
Instructions: The U.S. Department of Justice and the General Services Administration have made an electronic booklet available on the U.S. General Services Administration’s Web Site detailing information on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Go to the Web site below, and you will find an article titled "Your Right to Federal Records: Questions and Answers on the Freedom of Information Act." Read the section on the Freedom of Information Act and answer Questions 1–6.
Visit URL:
Your Right to Federal Records
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/fed_prog/foia/foia.htm
Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions in the fields below.
Question 1: List the nine exemptions that protect records from FOIA disclosure. List also the three exclusions.
Question 2: Does the FOIA apply to Congress or to the White House?
Question 3: Describe how to request records under the FOIA.
Question 4: Do agencies have the right to charge a fee for complying with FOIA requests? If so, how much?
Question 5: How long does it usually take to answer a FOIA request? If the request is denied, is there a right of appeal? If the appeal is denied, is there anything further that can be done?
Practical Internet Exercise 6–2:
Management Perspective—Agency Inspections
Instructions: Government agencies extensively regulate business today and have the right to conduct inspections to ensure that businesses are complying with specific government regulations. Business owners and managers should be aware, however, that the government may not conduct warrantless inspections. This was made clear by the United States Supreme Court in the classic case of Marshall v. Barlow’s, Inc., decided in 1978.
The URL below will take you to a page on the FindLaw Web site from which you can access this opinion. When the page opens, scroll down, and under "Citation Search," key in the numbers “436” and “307” before and after “U.S.” and then click “Search.” Read through the case.
Visit URL:
Marshall v. Barlow's Inc. Case Opinion
http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html
Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions in the fields below.
Question 1: This case arose as a result of an attempt by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to inspect the business premises of Barlow’s, Inc., in Pocatello, Idaho. Does OSHA’s enabling legislation, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, empower the agency to search the work area of employment facilities falling under the act’s jurisdiction?
Question 2: When did the attempted inspection of Barlow’s, Inc., take place? How did the president and general manager of Barlow’s Inc., Ferrol (“Bill”) Barlow, respond to the OSHA inspector at that time? Was the inspector able to actually conduct an inspection?
Question 3: What was the lower court’s ruling on Barlow’s claim that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated by OSHA’s attempt to search his premises without a search warrant?
Question 4: According to the Supreme Court, does the warrant clause of the Fourth Amendment protect commercial buildings as well as private homes? What two cases does the Court rely on in its reasoning? In what circumstances does the Supreme Court acknowledge an exception exists to the warrant requirement for the inspection of business premises?
Question 5: According to the Supreme Court, would OSHA have to demonstrate probable cause in order to obtain a warrant to search Barlow’s business? Why or why not?
Question 6: Generally, what conclusions did the Supreme Court reach in this case?