Obama administration releases September White House visitor logs

In a move that signals a change in practice from a year ago, the Obama administration released its log of White House visitors for September 16-30 along with 2,000 records from before September 16. -DB Sunlight Foundation Commentary December 30, 2009 By Daniel Schuman Today the White House released its log of White House visitors [...]

Women’s group sues Google for bloggers’ defamation

The National Association of Professional Women is suing Google and three other Web sites for publishing bloggers’ statements that say the organization is a scam. -DB Courthouse News Service December 31, 2009 By Barbara Leonard MINEOLA, N.Y. – The National Association of Professional Women claims Google and three other Web sites defamed it by allowing [...]

President issues declassification order curbing secrecy

President Barack Obama issued a long anticipated order on declassification with the statement that no information should remain classified indefinitely. He eliminated a Bush order that allowed the intelligence community a veto over declassification decisions. -DB Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press December 30, 2009 By Amanda Becker President Obama on Monday issued an [...]

TSA puts heat on blogger posting new screening procedures

Armed agents from the Transportation Security Administration visited two bloggers in their homes with subpoenas, seeking the identity of the source who provided a document revising screening procedures for airports after the recent aborted bombing attempt by a Nigerian man. -DB Wired Threat Level December 30, 2009 By Kim Zetter Two bloggers received home visits [...]

Center to help citizens obtain documents from governmental agencies

The new Center for Open Government at Chicago-Kent College of Law will provide legal help to those seeking documents from local and state governments. -DB Galesburg Radio December 27, 2009 A new academic institute will help citizens pry information from reticent governments. The new Center for Open Government at Chicago-Kent College of Law will represent [...]

Written word alive and well

A study done by the University of San Diego and other universities revealed that Americans are reading far more words as the new technologies take hold. With the advent of TV, reading was in decline but has rebounded, tripling from 1980 to 2008. -DB Wired Commentary December 29, 2009 By Eliot Van Buskirk Conventional wisdom [...]

Prop. 8 proponents object to TV for hearing in federal court

Sponsors of Prop. 8 the ballot measure that banned same-sex in California say that television coverage of the court trial in San Francisco in January would result in harassment and intimidation of witnesses and other participants. -DB San Francisco Chronicle December 30, 2009 By Bob Egelko SAN FRANCISCO — Sponsors of California’s ban on same-sex marriage, [...]

Minnesota university drops ideological screening for school teachers in training

The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities has abandoned its plan to enforce an ideological litmus test for future teachers. The plan centered on intercultural sensitivity and enforced a narrow view that could interfere with a student’s freedom of thought. -DB FIRE Foundation for Individual Rights in Education Press Release December 23, 2009 MINNEAPOLIS — In response [...]

Darkness Award highlight: California school district pays for censorship of student newspaper

The Fallbrook Union High School District who censored the student newspaper, cancelled the journalism program and reassigned the newspaper adviser agreed to pay the adviser $7,500 and reimburse the ACLU and its law firm $20,000 for legal costs. In October the First Amendment Coalition awarded its Darkness Award to Rod King, the principal responsible for [...]

Publisher sues hackers for copyright infringement after portions of GQ appear online

Condé Nast has sued anonymous hackers after they downloaded unpublished photos and articles from GQ’s December issue and published them online. -DB Online Media Daily December 23, 2009 By Wendy Davis Condé Nast has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against unknown users who allegedly hacked into the company’s computer system, downloaded unpublished photos and articles, [...]

New study: Politicians have no problem evading campaign finance laws

A study by the Center for governmental Studies shows that finance laws aimed at taking the undemocratic influences of money out of elections have been circumvented by politicians who have been able to raise money far exceeding contribution limits. -DB Center for Governmental Studies Press Release December 17, 2009 Loopholes, Tricks and End Runs: Evasions [...]

Virginia newspaper uses laptop and cell phone to report trial of neo-Nazi

A federal  judge allowed the Roanoke Times to use electronic devices to file reports from a trial of a neo-Nazi accused of harassing a reporter. Federal courts still generally prohibit photos, broadcasting and most electronic devices. -DB Full story: The Roanoke Times December 23, 2009 By Jordan Fifer

Judge affirms constitutionality of federal obscenity laws

A U.S. district judge refused to dismiss a case against a major pornography studio ruling that the federal obscenity laws offered sufficient guidance to the studio charged with transporting obscene material across state lines. -DB The Blog of Legal Times December 22, 2009 By Jordan Weissmann A U.S. district judge today refused to dismiss the [...]

Australia: Professor challenges proposed internet filter for stopping child porn

A Perth university professor says that the internet filter under consideration in parliament will not succeed in protecting children and would block a wide range of content thereby allying Australia with the most repressive countries in censoring internet content. -DB The Sidney Morning Herald December 17, 2009 By Lelia Green SIDNEY, Australia – Senator Stephen Conroy’s [...]

Central California: Grand jury finds open government violation by Hughson City Council

A grand jury has charged that three Hughson City Council members violated the Brown Act and other rules and ordinances and recommended that they be removed from office. -DB The Turlock Journal December 22, 2009 By Maegan Martens Three Hughson City Council members received not so glad tidings on Tuesday when the Civil Grand Jury [...]

Whistleblower suffers demotion after reporting alleged overcharges by California court contractor

An employee of the California Administrative Office of the Courts found himself demoted and assigned to work under the same contractor for the California court system that he reported for operating with a license and overcharging for services. -DB Project on Government Oversight Opinion December 21, 2009 By Neil Gordon Accountable California, a project of SEIU [...]

Justice Department wants to close trial of Blackwater guards

Citing national security issues, the Justice Department has asked a judge to close the Jan. 7 trial of five security guards who allegedly killed more than a dozen Iraqi civilians. -DB Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press December 21, 2009 By Rory Eastburg The Justice Department has asked a judge to close a Jan. 7 [...]

Federal judge orders release of government evidence pertaining to ‘no-fly list’

A federal judge in San Francisco ordered the Transportation Security Administration to disclose evidence showing that a Malaysian Muslim studying at Stanford University belonged on the federal government’s no-fly list. She was denied entry to the U.S. and lost her student visa. -DB Courthouse News Service December 21, 2009 By Annie Youderian A federal judge [...]

Federal court approves television cameras in time for Prop 8 hearing

The Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit approved television cameras for certain district court hearings, civil proceedings with no juries. Before now the court had only allowed cameras to televise appellate arguments. -DB Cal Law December 18, 2009 By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO — The Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit authorized television cameras in certain [...]

Opinion: Imperial Valley Board of Supervisors violated spirit of California’s open government law

While finding that the county supervisors covered themselves sufficiently on the Brown Act, the Imperial Valley Press argues that they failed to honor the spirit of the Brown Act by not fully informing the public that it was their intention to intervene in a federal case involving Prop 8 making same-sex marriage illegal in California. -DB [...]

Imperial County Board of Supervisors under scrutiny for possible open government violation

The American Civil Liberties Union is looking into an allegation that the Imperial County Board of Supervisors violated California’s Brown Act in a closed session December 15 when it voted to intervene in a federal case involving Prop 8, the state proposition making same-sex marriage illegal. -DB Imperial Valley Press December 18, 2009 By Elizabeth Variner [...]

D.A. investigates alleged open government violation in Montebello

The Montebello City Council may have violated the Brown Act, California’s open government law, when they allegedly discouraged public participation leading up to a November 16 city council meeting. -DB San Gabriel Valley Tribune December 17, 2009 By Thomas Himes MONTEBELLO, Calif. – The District Attorney’s Office is investigating allegations that a special meeting of [...]

Southern California: Long running ad hoc committees trample open government

With 14 ad hoc committees, one four years old, the Highland City Council is needlessly conducting vast amounts of the people’s business behind closed doors, says an editorial in the Highland Community News. -DB Highland Community News Editorial December 17, 2009 Ad hoc committees can serve a very useful purpose. Operating out of public view, they [...]

Gilroy City Council fails to stop pot dispensary while violating California open government law

The Gilroy City Council met in closed session to decide what to do on about a pot dispensary operating without a license thereby botching their attempt to gain a preliminary injunction to close down the dispensary.-DB Gilroy Dispatch Editorial December 17, 2009 Spanked. That’s what the city of Gilroy got in court Tuesday when seeking a [...]

In Separate Moves, State and Federal Courts in California OK Policy Changes Allowing Greater Public Access

BY PETER SCHEER — The courts in California are often criticized for being out of step with the rest of the country. A willingness among judges to deviate from national orthodoxy is not necessarily a bad thing, however. Just this week the administrative arm of the California Supreme Court adopted a rule providing public access [...]

Ad charging bank crime refused by Nigerian press in alleged payoff

A Brooklyn lawyer says when he tried to run an ad in Nigeria’s “The Nation” charging a bank made its female employees offer sex to attract investors, the publication refused his ad saying it had accepted a payoff from the bank. -DB Courthouse News Service December 17, 2009 By Adam Klasfeld BROOKLYN (NY) – A [...]

Federal Court rejects argument that mug shot of securities fraud suspect is public record

A Florida federal court rejected the Freedom of Information Act request of a freelance journalist for a prisoner’s mug shot ruling that the man’s privacy was more important than the public’s interest in seeing the photo. -DB The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press December 16, 2009 By Amanda Becker A federal court in [...]

Critics want state deputy attorney to drop plans for teaching course with author of torture memos

Critics of John Woo who wrote memos for the Bush administration justifying torture are pressuring a California deputy attorney general to drop plans to teach a constitutional law class at UC Berkeley with Woo. They say that teaching the class with Woo would “legitimize his [Woo's] illegal and unethical actions.” -DB San Francisco Chronicle December [...]

Freedom of Information Act request garners oversight report of alleged illegal intelligence activities

In response to its FOIA lawsuit in July, the Electronic Frontier Foundation saw the government release an intelligence oversight report that reveals intelligence activities some believe are illegal. -DB Electronic Frontier Foundation December 16, 2009 By Nate Cardozo Today the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, the Office of the Director of National [...]

ACLU suing Nebraska on stringent requirements for independent candidates and ballot initiatives

In suing the state of Nebraska, the American Civil Liberties Union claims that signature requirements for independent candidates and ballot initiatives discourage voter participation and violate their free speech rights. -DB American Civil Liberties Union Press Release December 16, 2009 OMAHA, NE – Burdensome petition signature requirements unlawfully keep independent candidates and ballot initiatives off [...]

No cameras…yet for Prop 8 court challenge

The Northern District chief judge said there would be no TV cameras allowed into court for the federal challenge to Prop 8, but that under a Ninth Circuit governing council is considering a pilot program to allow them. -DB Legal Pad A Cal Law Blog December 16, 2009 By Dan Levine As of today, cameras [...]

Open government advocate sues Huntington Beach visitors’ bureau for withholding details on legal dispute

The Huntington Beach visitors’ bureau is facing a suit over their failure to tell the public how much taxpayer money they spent on a legal dispute over a T-shirt. The bureau engaged a souvenir shop in Santa Cruz in a battle over the marketing of the shirt reading “Surf City USA” which Huntington Beach claims [...]

New rule allows public access to administrative records of California courts

The California Judicial Council approved a new Rule of Court this week giving the public a right of access to administrative records of Superior and Appellate courts and the Administrative Office of the Courts. The rule will be in effect January of next year and is modeled after the California Public Records Act. -DB Legislative [...]

NYPD must release documents of surveillance of Republican convention protesters

A federal judge ruled that the New York Police Department must release documents showing its surveillance of protesters of the 2004 Republican National Convention. Over 1,800 were arrested during the protests. -DB The New York Times December 14, 2009 NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has ruled the New York Police Department must release [...]

Bloomberg bid for records of federal bailout gains support of other news organizations

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and 12 other media groups filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the suit to gain access to records of the recent federal bailout of  automobile and financial firms. Bloomberg News sued to obtain records of the $2 trillion emergency lending program. -DB The Reporters Committee for Freedom of [...]

Government lawyer argues torture suit too sensitive for public court

Citing national security and state secrets, a Justice Department lawyer argued that the suit involving the CIA and a San Jose company over extraordinary rendition and torture of suspected terrorists cannot proceed in open court. -DB San Francisco Chronicle December 16, 2009 By Bob Egelko SAN FRANCISCO — A lawsuit accusing a Bay Area flight-planning [...]

News media copyright policy could limit free speech

A Fellow at The Center for the Internet and Society argues that in trying to protect content, the news media can propose policies that hurt the very First Amendment that they are trying to preserve. -DB The Center for the Internet and Society Stanford Law School Opinion December 10, 2009 By Sarah Hinchliff Pearson It’s [...]

Microsoft aggressive in competing with other vendors for open government market

Microsoft is using Sharepoint, Bing, SQL, and Azure to command a share of the traffic on open government while Google and Amazon are joining Microsoft in offering to host public data on their cloud services. -DB Information Week December 15, 2009 By J. Nicholas Hoover With the open government movement in full swing and the [...]

California politicians pay for campaign reporting violations

California’s Fair Political Practices Commission fined a number of political candidates and committees for among other things failing to report contributions and expenses. -DB Courthouse News Service December 15, 2009 By Elizabeth Banicki California political candidates, commissioners and committees were fined from $200 to more than $100,000 for campaign reporting violations, including failing to report [...]

Government task force proposes new policy for limiting distribution of unclassified but sensitive information

An Obama administration task force has released a report suggesting replacing more than 100 different markings now used to curtail the distribution of sensitive but unclassified information. Recommended changes would reduce inconsistency in practice across agencies and over-protection of information. -DB Secrecy News Federation of American Scientists Opinion December 15, 2009 By Steven Aftergood The [...]

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