Bell’s princely salaries result of fewer reporters on the beat

How did the city officials of Bell, CA, manage to convince the mostly low-income citizens of their municipality to fund such outrageously high salaries?  Writer Conor Friedersdorf at Forbes.com argues that the townspeople never agreed, they didn’t even know about the high salaries.  The reason? There was no watchdog reporter covering city hall. Why Every [...]

Divided 8th Circuit strikes down Minn. judicial-campaign restrictions

A divided federal appeals court ruled yesterday that Minnesota’s restrictions on fundraising and endorsements by judicial candidates violated their free-speech rights, overturning parts of the state code of judicial conduct. July 30, 2010 By The Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. —A sharp dissent warned that the change could threaten public trust in impartial courts. The [...]

Ousted USDA employee: I’ll sue blogger

Ousted Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod said yesterday that she would sue a conservative blogger who posted a video edited in a way that she contends made her appear racist. July 30, 2010 By The Associated Press SAN DIEGO — Sherrod was forced to resign last week as director of rural development in Georgia after [...]

Nev. high court tosses portion of state’s ethics law

The Nevada Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a portion of the state’s ethics law yesterday in a case involving Sparks Councilman Michael Carrigan. July 30, 201o By The Associated Press CARSON CITY, Nev. —The high court said the law the Nevada Ethics Commission relied on when it censured Carrigan for voting on the controversial [...]

Appeals court says posting of personal data is free speech

A Virginia woman who protested the government’s perceived mismanagement of sensitive personal data by posting unredacted information from government documents online can continue her crusade, a federal appeals court has ruled. The Reporters Committee from Freedom of the Press July 30, 2010 By Cristina Abello Betty “B.J.” Ostergren, a self-proclaimed privacy rights advocate, created a [...]

School boards ask federal judges to block employee free speech

School boards are trying to reverse a federal court ruling banning administrators from controlling the free-speech rights of teachers and other school employees. California Watch July 30, 2010 By Corey G. Johnson According to a brief filed yesterday in 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and the California School [...]

Leaked Afghan war docs could spur crackdown on info access

After the massive Afghan war data spill by Wikileaks, some veteran intelligence officers and experts are calling for a tightening of access to information and more monitoring in the spy community’s lower levels. July 29, 2010 By The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Call it the big information chill, looming across the military and intelligence communities. [...]

FBI chief: Surveillance rules not based on race, faith

FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress yesterday that the bureau’s domestic-surveillance guidelines were being used properly and that agents were not employing them to target people for investigation on the basis of race. July 29, 2010 By The Associated Press WASHINGTON–The FBI director’s defense of the guidelines at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing followed criticism [...]

Texas cities can’t challenge state’s open-meetings law

Four Texas cities cannot join more than a dozen elected officials in a lawsuit aimed at overturning the Texas Open Meetings Act, a federal judge ruled yesterday. July 29, 2010 By The Associated Press PECOS, Texas —U.S. District Judge Robert Junell said the cities of Alpine, Pflugerville, Rockport and Wichita Falls cannot sue Texas Attorney [...]

Judge gives online commenters First Amendment protection

A judge’s ruling in a pre-trial motion involving a Gaston County murder case affirms that First Amendment protection extends to those who make anonymous comments about stories on news websites. The Star July 29, 2010 By Kevin Ellis Attorneys for Michael Mead had sought to force The Gaston Gazette to reveal information that could have [...]

Video game group spent $1.1M lobbying in 2Q

The Entertainment Software Association, a trade group for video game companies, spent $1.1 million during the second quarter to lobby on the regulation of video game content, First Amendment protection, parental control technology and other issues, according to a recent disclosure report. July 29, 2010 By The Associated Press WASHINGTON —This is down 5 percent [...]

Court rules student counselors must ‘affirm’ gay clients

On Tuesday, a federal judge upheld the right of a counseling program at Eastern Michigan University to kick out a master’s student who declined to counsel gay clients in an affirming way — as required by the university program and counseling associations. USA TODAY July 29, 2010 By Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed A month [...]

USA outlaws ‘libel tourism’ in the UK courts

United States lawmakers have passed legislation countering the threat to freedom of speech posed by ‘libel tourists’ who use the UK’s tough libel laws to take action over articles primarily published in the US. Press Gazette July 29, 2010 By Dominic Ponsford The SPEECH Act – Securing the Protection of our Enduring and Established Constitutional [...]

Mexican Journalists Kidnapped as Drug Cartels Threaten Freedom of Speech

Mexican gang members took at least three journalists hostage this week in Durango state after the reporters investigated alleged links between prison officials and drug groups, the state attorney general’s office said. Bloomberg July 29, 2010 By Jonathan J. Levin The kidnappers haven’t yet demanded a payoff, said Ruben Lopez, a spokesman for the attorney [...]

Wikileaks didn’t just happen. It exists because journalists have lost control over their information.

BY PETER SCHEER–The New York Times’ front-page stories on the war in Afghanistan–based on a massive leak of classified US military cables and other documents–are not likely to change the course of the war. But they represent a sea change in the way journalists report on national security. The records for the Times’ articles, which [...]

5th Circuit strikes down part of university’s free-speech policy

A federal appeals court said universities cannot require a security fee for speaking on campus without any guidelines for what security is needed. July 28, 2010 By AP NEW ORLEANS — The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that Southeastern Louisiana University’s free-speech policy is unconstitutionally vague on that point. Jeremy Sonnier challenged the [...]

Free Speech: Neb. town settles lawsuit brought by Westboro churchwoman

An Omaha suburb has paid a member of a Kansas church that protests at soldiers’ funerals $17,000. In exchange, Shirley Phelps-Roper has dropped her lawsuit against Bellevue. July 28, 2010 By AP LINCOLN, Neb. — The settlement with Westboro Baptist Church, which claims that U.S. troop deaths are punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality, was [...]

Tenn. governor candidate questions whether Islam is a ‘cult’

Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Ramsey is being criticized by a national Muslim advocacy group for questioning whether Islam is more of a cult than a a religion. July 28, 2010 By AP NASHVILLE, Tenn. — At an event in Chattanooga earlier this month, Ramsey said: “You could even argue whether that being a Muslim is actually [...]

Senator: Internet gatekeepers biggest threat to free speech [VIDEO]

Comedian-turned-senator Al Franken (D-MN) has ditched the potty jokes and Stuart Smalley routine since taking office, turning himself into a surprisingly articulate and strident voice in favor of net neutrality and against the Comcast/NBC merger. Arts Technica July 28, 2010 By Nate Anderson Back in February, when a Senate hearing offered him the chance to [...]

First Amendment Guru Floyd Abrams on the WikiLeaks Situation [VIDEO]

July 28, 2010 By Wall Street Journal     On Monday morning, we did some looking into the legal issues surrounding WikiLeaks’ decision to unveil some 92,000 previously classified documents on the public, in connection with a handful of media outlets. The bottom line, some First Amendment experts informed us: the government certainly had the [...]

Attorney, Seattle Times publisher to receive government-transparency award

Seattle Times publisher Frank Blethen and Spokane attorney Duane Swinton will be honored in September for their contributions to transparency in government. July 28, 2010 By Seattle Times Staff The nonprofit Washington Coalition for Open Government announced this week that Blethen and his newspaper will receive the James Madison Award for his leadership in fighting [...]

Protection for US writers abroad goes to Obama

  A bill that would protect American authors, journalists and publishers from foreign libel judgments that undermine the U.S. guarantee of free speech passed Congress on Tuesday. July 28, 2010 By AP WASHINGTON–The House approved the legislation by voice vote and sent it to President Barack Obama. Under the bill, U.S. federal courts would be [...]

U.S. braces for blowback over leaked Afghan war documents

Intelligence officials, past and present, are raising concerns that the Wikileaks.org revelations could endanger U.S. counterterror networks in the Afghan region and damage information-sharing with U.S. allies. July 27, 2010 By The Associated Press WASHINGTON — People in Afghanistan or Pakistan who have worked with American intelligence agents or the military against the Taliban or al-Qaida [...]

Va. privacy advocate can publish SSNs of private, public citizens

A Virginia privacy advocate can post public records containing Social Security numbers of private citizens as well as government officials on her website, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday. News July 27, 2010 By The Associated Press RICHMOND, Va.–The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with B.J. Ostergren’s claim that a 2008 state law [...]

Pro-life T-shirt censorship case to go to jury

A dress-code dispute over an anti-abortion T-shirt will head to trial in late August, after a federal district judge said it was an open question whether officials prohibited a student from wearing her shirt with pictures of fetuses because of its viewpoint or because it was too graphic. Commentary July 27, 2010 By David L. [...]

Superior Court judge orders newspaper not to publish details of legal dispute

Superior Court Judge took the rare step of ordering The National Law Journal not to publish information ahead of publication The Washington Post Blog/ Commentary July 26, 2010 By Mike Debonis What should have been a boring trade-paper article about a pomegranate-juice company’s legal-fee dispute got a whole lot, er, juicier last week. Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff [...]

Fla. tourism official says: “hold media in the Gulf accountable”

The chairman of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association is urging Congress to hold the media “accountable” for what he alleges is inaccurate reporting on the Gulf oil spill that has hurt tourism in his state. AP July 27, 2010 By Frederic J. Frommer WASHINGTON — Keith Overton suggested at a hearing Tuesday that Congress charge [...]

D.C. judge issues injunction against news organization

The National Law Journal has been prohibited by court order from publishing information it obtained legally. July 27, 2010 By The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff issued a temporary restraining order against theNational Law Journal last Friday after she discovered the news organization was planning to publish [...]

Cyberbullying case gets no traction in New York state

A New York state judge has ruled that cyberbullying does not constitute defamation and dismissed her suit against her high school classmates who wrote scurrilous statements about her on FaceBook. -db Cyberbullying case gets no traction in New York state Online Media Daily July 26, 2010 By Wendy Davis Writing that a classmate contracted a [...]

Google introduces Google Apps for Government

At a press event at its headquarters this morning, Google announced Google Apps for Government-a new version of its Google Apps productivity suite that’s been certified by the US government as meeting its security requirements. PC World July 27, 2010 By Harry McCracken The new version is a variant of Google Apps Premier edition, and includes [...]

Apps Unchained: Copyright ruling legalizes smartphone ‘jailbreaks’

How smart is your smartphone?  Until yesterday your phone’s IQ was decided by the manufacturer (i.e., Apple) and/or wireless service provider (i.e., AT&T).  Monday the Library of Congress, responsible for making copyright decisions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, made it legal to break the restrictions coded into smartphones–such as which apps you’re allowed to [...]

Chemical security bills lack provisions for transparency

Two chemical facility security bills introduced in the U.S. senate are designed to reduce the consequences of accident or attack on chemical plants and drinking water facilities but fail to provide for accountability and transparency to ensure safety says OMB Watch. -db Chemical security bills lack provisions for transparency OMB Watch Commentary July 27, 2010 [...]

Free speech: Colombian journalist barred from the U.S. receives visa

The ACLU has called for the end to excluding visitors to the United States on ideological grounds as the State Department reversed a decision by the U.S. Columbian embassy blocking Hollman Morris from traveling to the U.S. to participate in the Nieman fellowship program at Harvard University. -db Free speech: Columbian journalist previously barred from [...]

Local judge blocks law journal from publishing information obtained legally

A District of Columbia Superior Court judge switched course and ruled the National Law Journal could not publish information in a fee dispute even after it obtained the information through public court documents before the judge decided to seal them. -db Local judge blocks law journal from publishing information obtained legally http://www.rcfp.org/newsitems/index.php?i=11501 The Reporters Committee [...]

Alameda: Councilwoman asks DA to close investigation of alleged open meeting violation

Through her attorney, an Alameda city councilwoman has asked the Alameda County District Attorney to drop its inquiry into her alleged leaks of confidential information in violation of California’s open meeting law. -db Alameda: Attorney for councilwoman asks DA to close investigation of alleged open meeting violation The Island July 27, 2910 By Michele Ellson [...]

Southern California: Alleged Brown Act violation by school district during teleconferencing

The Orange Unified School District board of trustees has allegedly violated the Brown Act, California’s open meeting act in failing to observe the rules governing teleconferencing votes. According to the act, all votes during teleconference must be rollcall votes. -db Greater Orange News Service July 26, 2010 With Trustee Kim Nichols participating in the June [...]

Public agency pensions: Editorial reaffirms public’s right-to-know

An editorial in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat calls for the Sonoma County employee association to release information on pensioners receiving over $100,000 a year. In a recent case in Sacramento County, a judge ruled that under California’s Brown Act Sacramento County could not keep pension information from the public. -db Pubilc agency pensions: Editorial [...]

WikiLeaks claims benefits to releasing classified Afghan war documents

While the Obama administration downplays the importance of the classified field reports on the Afghanistan war released by  WikiLeaks July 25, WikiLeaks founder Julian Asange says the reports will increase transparency on the war and strengthen democracy and governance. -db WikiLeaks claims release of classified Afghan war documents beneficial http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/world/26wiki.html The New York Times July [...]

A&A: We had to wait for records; others received info with a phone call

Q: We have been cited for a barking dog complaint of one of our dogs. The complaining parties are our neighbors, one of which we have taken to court over an easement issue and there is an arbitration agreement in place for no harassment by either party. We claimed that they were using the dog [...]

A&A: How are attorney’s fees calculated in CPRA cases?

Q: First off thank you so much for providing such a boon to transparency in government. I’ve found an attorney willing to take a CA Public Records Act (“CPRA”) case where the would-be defendant won’t disclose records that clearly should be or provide an exemption or other concrete reason for not providing the requested documents. [...]

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