Appeals

A Requester can file an administrative appeal at any point during Request processing if unsatisfied with the initial response to the Request. For example, if the Requester disagrees with the withholding of information by the agency, or believes that there are additional records relevant to the Request that have not been located, the Requester can file an appeal.

The Requester can file an administrative appeal if:

• The Requester has requested expedited processing or a fee waiver and the request is denied.

• The Requester determines that a record is not an agency record.

• The record is not presented in the requested form.

• There are fee issues.

After an appeal has been created, the Request type will change to "Appeal". The appeal will be assigned a new Request number, and its status will change to "Received," after which it must be processed like an initial Request.

Create an Appeal

1. Open a Request for which you want to create an Appeal.

2. Click Appeals. The Appeals screen displays as shown below.
   
   

3. Click Create Appeal. The Create Appeal screen appears as shown below.
    

4. 
   (!!) Note: If the Barcodes option is enabled this will be available under the Drag and Drop Zone             
   

5.  Enter information in the following fields as necessary:

   Field	Description
   Requester Details
   Requester	Requester who submitted the Request. To create a new Requester, click the browse icon , and then click the Create Requester tab.
   Category	Category, as selected from the drop-down menu.
   On Behalf Of	If the Request was submitted on behalf of another person, click the browse icon to search for an existing Requester, or create a new Requester for whom the Request was submitted.
   Address Details (Click to expand)
   Shipping Address
   Address 1	Address of the Requester.
   Address 2	Second address (if any).
   City	City where the Requester is located.
   Country	Country where the Requester is located.
   State/Province	State where the Requester is located.
   ZIP Code	Zip Code where the Requester is located.
   Billing Address
   Address 1	Address of the Requester.
   Address 2	Second address (if any).
   City	City where the Requester is located.
   Country	Country where the Requester is located.
   State/Province	State where the Requester is located.
   ZIP Code	Zip Code where the Requester is located.
   Appeal Details
   Action Office	Action Office, as selected from the drop-down menu.
   Appeal Type	Appeal Type, as selected from the drop-down menu.
   Reference	Request for the new appeal to reference. (!!) Note: The Reference Number is the Request Number assigned when an Appeal is created. An Appeal is treated like a new Request, and is identified by its Reference Number.
   Received Mode	Mode in which the Request was received. Options include By Hand, Commercial Carrier, E-mail, Fax, Mail, PAL and Other.
   Multi-Track Type	Multi-Track Type, as selected from the drop-down menu. Options include Simple, Complex, and Expedite.
   Requested Date	Date the Request (Appeal) was sent using the calendar icon.
   Received Date	Date the Request (Appeal) was received using the calendar icon.
   Request Owner	Request Owner, selected by clicking the browse icon and selecting a user. Users can be located by entering search criteria and clicking Search.
   Primary Assigned	Name of the primary assigned user.
   Appeal Sub Type	Appeal Sub Type, as selected from the drop-down menu. Options include Expedite Processing, Fee Waiver, Final Decision, Interim Response, and Overdue Request.
   Priority	Priority level, as selected from the drop-down menu. Options include High, Low, Medium, and Normal. Priority Codes can be created and modified under Administration > Lookups > Priority Codes.
   Delivery Mode	Delivery Mode, as selected from the drop-down menu.
   Method of Payment	Method of Payment, as selected from the drop-down menu. If none of the payment methods apply, select the empty field.
   Restricted
   Restricted	Hide the Appeal Description when viewing reports.
   Date Range for Record Search	The date range within which Appeal Description records will be searched. To select the range, click the calendar icons next to the From and To fields, and select the dates within which you want to search.
   Description	A description of the appeal. There are multiple ways to add an Appeal Description. You can manually type the Appeal Description provided by the Requester, drag and drop the Appeal Description (Request Letter) to the Drag and Drop Zone, scan the Appeal Description by clicking Scan File, or attach the Appeal Description by clicking Attach File and selecting a file to attach.
   Reference Request(s)	Use the Manage Reference Requests option to search for and add related reference requests to this appeal
   Sub Requests
   Sub Requests	Add Sub Requests by expanding the Sub Requests field, then clicking Add. All available Sub Requests will be listed. Select a Sub Request, then click Save. After saving a Sub Request, you can edit it by selecting it, and then clicking Edit. To delete a Sub Request, select a Sub Request, and then click Remove.
   Expedite Requested
   Expedite Requested	If the Requester has asked for his Request (Appeal) to be expedited, select Yes for this field. After selecting Yes, enter the Start Date, End Date, Expedite Description (manually, by scanning a file, by attaching a file, or by dragging and dropping), and select a Determination from the drop-down menu.
   Fee Waiter Requested
   Fee Waiver Requested	If the Requester has requested a Fee Waiver, select Yes for this field. After clicking Yes, enter the Start Date, End Date, Fee Waiver Description (manually, by scanning a file, by attaching a file, or by dragging and dropping), and select a Determination from the drop-down menu.
   Fee Details
   Fee Details	Willing Amount ($) the Requester is willing to pay, and select the Willing to Pay All Fees checkbox if the Requester is willing to pay all fees.
   Link Request(s)
   Link Request(s)	Link this appeal to another Request in FOIAXpress
   Comments
   Comments	Any additional comments

6. Click Save.

   (!!) Note: Users can change the Requester while creating or editing an appeal.

   (!!) Note: If a file format that is not configured in Administration > System Configuration > Correspondence Configuration is selected to attach the Appeal Description or Expedite Reason correspondence, the following message displays indicating that the selected file extension is not allowed:
   
   

Existing Appeals Details

When saving Appeals, FOIAXpress searches for any existing Appeals filed by the Requester for the same Request number. If there are any duplicates found, the Duplicate Request screen displays as shown below:

.

1. Click Save Appeal to save the appeal as a new Request, or click Cancel to abort.

2. Click Close to close the screen and return to the New Appeal screen.

(!!) Note: The Create Appeal screen can also be accessed by clicking Requests > Create Appeal.

View Appeals on a Request

1. Open the Request for which you want to view an Appeal.

2. Click Appeals. All Appeals associated with the selected Request displays on the Appeals screen as shown below.