In this action brought under the Freedom of Information Act
("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C. § 552, plaintiff challenges the Bureau of
Prisons' ("BOP") response to his request dated May 1, 2004, for a
copy of the "transfer package" prepared for his transfer from the
Federal Prison Camp in Marion, Illinois, to the Federal
Correctional Institution in Forrest City, Arkansas. Complaint,
Ex. A. BOP located 13 responsive records. By letter dated
September 23, 2004, it released three pages in their entirety and
ten pages with redactions, and advised plaintiff about his right
to appeal to the Office of Information and Privacy within 60
days. Before the Court is defendants' motion to dismiss or for
summary judgment. Upon consideration of the motion, plaintiff's
opposition, and the entire record, the Court will grant
defendants' motion for summary judgment.*fn1 Defendants seek dismissal of the complaint on the ground that
plaintiff has not exhausted his administrative remedies by
appealing the agency's determination as he was so advised in the
September 23 letter.*fn2 See Deft's Ex. C. The District of
Columbia Circuit has interpreted the exhaustion provisions of the
FOIA as "requiring the completion of the administrative appeal
process before courts become involved, if the agency has
responded to the request before suit is filed." Oglesby v. Dep't
of the Army, 920 F.2d 57, 65 (D.C. Cir. 1990). While exhaustion
is not jurisdictional, "as a jurisprudential doctrine, failure to
exhaust precludes judicial review" if a merits determination
would undermine the purpose of permitting an agency to review its
determinations in the first instance. Hidalgo v. FBI,
344 F.3d 1256, 1258-59 (D.C. Cir. 2003). Because BOP responded to
plaintiff's request before he filed this complaint on October 12,
2004, plaintiff was required to exhaust his administrative
remedies. The Court therefore grants defendants' motion for
summary judgment. A separate Order accompanies this Memorandum.