Bethsquire

My name is Beth Bourdon and I live in Orlando, Florida. I'm a Public Defender (criminal defense attorney for indigent clients) who is board certified in criminal trial law in Florida representing people charged with first and second degree murder, and I am also Ken Klippenstein's FOIA lawyer when I'm off the clock as a PD. Together, Ken and I have filed four FOIA lawsuits: one against ICE in 2019, one against the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), one against DOJ and one against 8 defendants (ICE, CBP, STATE, FBI, DIA, I&A, DOE and CISA). The 2019 ICE case was successfully litigated and has been completed. The lawsuit against FDLE is a state action in Florida under the Florida Sunshine Law, and it was filed November 29, 2020 and successfully litigated and completed December 17, 2020, with documents produced December 31, 2020. The two remaining lawsuits were filed in December, 2020, and are in the initial stages of litigation.

If you need help with something FOIA related, feel free to DM me on Twitter. I can offer suggestions on records to request and help you locate where to send your request, as well as telling you what should generally be included in your request. Through my work as a Public Defender, I have the most knowledge on types of records produced by state and local law enforcement agencies.

Note: I am only licensed to practice law in Florida and I can only file lawsuits in federal court in the Middle District of Florida at this time (though I am contemplating getting licensed in the District of Columbia). What does this mean to you? I can't answer your questions about any other types of law beyond what I practice, and I can't answer any questions on the laws in your state (unless your state is Florida). I can help you find resources to try to get the answers to the laws of your state, though.  :)