The secrecy of the information FOIA is supposed to help alleviate (it doesn't really because it's a catch-22) bothers me a lot.<p>If the government is amassing information on individuals to prove guilt of some crime, by withholding that information from counsel, it's very possible that evidence that proves the individual is completely innocent may be destroyed inadvertently since the individual has no idea what they might be someday accused of.
Is this legit? It kind of feels like those old scam ads that would say, "Has your credit card number been stolen? Enter here to find out!".<p>Why, especially in the light of recent privacy concerns, would I just hand over my full name, address and phone number and allow someone I have no relationship with mail a legal document on my behalf?
Regarding the motion to quash, it seems as though it would be rejected outright by the court clerk since you're not filing it in person and I'm guessing there is a motion fee to file with the court.<p>I am a lawyer and would be interested in helping you make this more effective, if you are interested.
Before I put up MyNSARecords, I was curious as to whether more people would want a copy or want them deleted. Thought you might find it interesting: the "want a copy" crowd outnumbers the "delete" crowd by about 4 to 1.
I find it ironic that that the "quash" option on the site doesn't tell you the address that will be used for mailing your request to the FISA court.<p>It would be nice if the site published instructions on submitting these requests yourself.<p>On a related note, I'd love to know:
1. How does one typically file a motion with the FISA court, given that they don't have a website or any public contact information that I can find?
2. What's the probability of these "quash" requests even being considered, given that nobody other than the USG is technically party to the case?
Of course if they don't have a file on you, and you send them a FOIA request, they may open up a file on you just for the purposes of handling your request...
Could somebody explain the Motion to Quash who has an understanding of it? I thought it only applied to a subpoena, and so would not apply without one.
Note that you can also submit a request directly on the NSA's FOIA page: <a href="http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/foia/submit_foia_request/foia_request_form.shtml" rel="nofollow">http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/foia/submit_foia_request/foia...</a>
Can't I just give them my name, and my Google Voice number, and in return get all the information they have on me or will they only give me the information they have on my Google Voice number?
There are nine exemptions to the FOIA (that we know of)<p><a href="http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/foia/" rel="nofollow">http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/foia/</a>