In the case Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve System v. Merrill, 1978, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that certain documents held by federal agencies could be exempt from disclosure under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The plaintiff, a private citizen named Paul R. Merrill had requested access to domestic policy directives and records related to open market operations from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which were denied on grounds that they were confidential and their release would negatively impact financial markets. The court found in favor of FOMC stating that these documents fell within Exemption 5 of FOIA as "inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters" which are not available by law to parties other than those in litigation with agency. Furthermore, it was determined that releasing such information might lead to speculative behavior in currency and securities markets thereby causing potential harm.

In the dissenting opinion for Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve System v. Merrill, Justice Rehnquist disagreed with the majority's decision to allow disclosure of certain documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). He argued that these documents were exempt from FOIA due to their nature as inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums. Furthermore, he contended that disclosing such information could potentially harm government operations by discouraging candid discussions within agencies and making them hesitant about recording deliberations in writing. Additionally, he expressed concern over judicial intrusion into administrative matters and believed it was not appropriate for courts to decide what should be disclosed based on their assessment of public interest. Instead, this responsibility should lie with Congress or administrative bodies who are more equipped to make such determinations.