Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit November 25, 2002, Docket 01-6219 (Steven E. Perlman v. United States Department of Justice, Janet Reno, Robert L. Ashbaugh, Howard L. Sribnick and Deborah Marie Briscoe, 1)

POOLER, Circuit Judge.

The Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requires courts to balance the rights of citizens to gain access to information that their federal government collects against the privacy interests of individuals and government employees discussed in the same information. Appellant Steven E.