---
title: "List the exemption and the harm the file already names"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/administrative-and-public-law/work-up-the-public-interest-test-for-a-conditionally-exempt-document/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A31-X20260927-3-US"
practice_area: "Administrative & Public Law"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# List the exemption and the harm the file already names

> Columns are the exemption number the file cites, the interest the file says would be harmed, and whether the file already contains a foreseeable-harm sentence. Write no sentence of a disclosure decision.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/administrative-and-public-law/work-up-the-public-interest-test-for-a-conditionally-exempt-document/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Administrative & Public Law](https://ailawframework.com/practice/administrative-and-public-law.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Columns are the exemption number the file cites, the interest the file says would be harmed, and whether the file already contains a foreseeable-harm sentence. Write no sentence of a disclosure decision. Do not apply a general public-interest override. |
| What the lawyer must review | 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(8) says an agency shall withhold only if it reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm an interest protected by an exemption in subsection (b), or disclosure is prohibited by law, and it shall consider partial disclosure and take reasonable steps to segregate and release nonexempt information. That paragraph does not require disclosure of information prohibited by law or exempt under subsection (b)(3). Exemption 4 is trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential. Exemption 6 is personnel, medical, and similar files whose disclosure would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Exemption 7 is limited to law-enforcement records, and exemption 7(C) uses an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Exemption 5's deliberative-process privilege does not apply to records created 25 years or more before the request. You decide. The fee-waiver public-interest sentence is a different test. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Work up the public interest test for a conditionally exempt document](https://ailawframework.com/practice/administrative-and-public-law/work-up-the-public-interest-test-for-a-conditionally-exempt-document.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Columns are the exemption number the file cites, the interest the file says would be harmed, and whether the file already contains a foreseeable-harm sentence. Write no sentence of a disclosure decision. Do not apply a general public-interest override.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Do not import a general public-interest balancing test. The text that was read does not state one.
- Do not use the fee-waiver public-interest sentence as the exemption test.
- A state information-access statute was not opened.

## Sources

- [5 U.S.C. § 552, Freedom of Information Act](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/552) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Public interest factors for a conditionally exempt document](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/administrative-and-public-law/foi-public-interest-factors.md) | Checklist | Red | A worksheet of the factors in the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) sections 11A and 11B for a document the principal has already marked as conditionally exempt. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*