First Amendment: Federal judge rules part of new Texas abortion law violates rights of patients and doctors

A federal district judge ruled that part of a Texas law requiring doctors to show a sonogram to a woman before an abortion was unconstitutional in that it required both patient and doctor to engage in government-mandated speech. Texas Governor Rick Perry said the state would appeal the decision and stressed the importance of the law [...]

Editorial: Feds drag heels on releasing records going back as far as World War II

While the Obama administration is making some progress in breaking the backlog of Freedom of Information Act requests, the National Security Archive says that there are still requests that go back over a decade and even to World War II. There are reasons for the slow pace but none that make much sense or could [...]

WikiLeaks’ unredacted U.S. diplomatic cables show up online

WikiLeaks has once again fueled criticism that it is irresponsible in handling its cache of U.S. diplomatic cables. The cables have surfaced online, unredacted with names of informants and intelligence agents. WikiLeaks denied they leaked the cables, putting the blame elsewhere. “The issue relates to a mainstream media partner and a malicious individual,”  they wrote. [...]

California court orders county to disclose data on employee retirement

A California appellate panel held that the California Public Records Act required the Sonoma County Employees’ Retirement Association to release the names and benefits of its members. The association argued that disclosing the information would subject its members to consumer fraud, but the panel rejected that argument. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat had sued for [...]

Missouri law on sexual misconduct ruled danger to free speech

After a teacher sued to protest a new law with a provision that prevented teachers from using social media to communicate with underage students, a local judge issued an injunction against the part of the law that would have made it a crime for her to communicate online with her own child. The provision was [...]

Political blogger fails in one of defamation suits over memoir alleging Obama engaged in gay sex

Daniel Parisi, a political blogger, filed a defamation suit against Jeffrey Rense, a radio talk show host who had written a foreword for a twisted memoir by Larry Sinclair claiming President Barack Obama had engaged in gay sex, drug use and murder. A federal district court ruled that Parisi had not made the case that [...]

First Amendment victory in federal appeals decision on filming police at work

Police in Massachusetts use the state’s wiretapping law to arrest citizens recording video of arrests and other law enforcement activities. But the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled last week that since the recording of an arrest was not done secretly, the wiretapping law did not apply. The court upheld the citizen’s First Amendment [...]

Iowa newspaper sues Agriculture department for food stamp records

After receiving little information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to its Freedom of Information Act request for information on the national food stamp program, the Argus Leader filed a lawsuit to obtain the records. The newspaper wants the records in its investigation of businesses profiting from the food stamp program and possible fraud. -db [...]

CIA wants to censor book by former FBI agent about 9/11 and terrorism

The Central Intelligence Agency is demanding that a memoir of a former FBI agent be heavily cut before publication. The agent was at the forefront of the fight against Al Qaeda and terrorism and makes some pointed criticisms of CIA errors including the harsh interrogation of the first important captive after 9/11. People close to [...]

Expect slow progress on cameras in California courtrooms

The chief justice of the California Supreme Court says she would like to increase use of cameras in courtrooms but wants to listen more fully to trial judges who have expressed strong reservations. Judges now can determine whether cameras are allowed in court. A proposal by a committee of the state Judicial Council would have [...]

Censorship ‘sucks’

Writing for the First Amendment Center, David L. Hudson Jr. explains why he hates school censorship. It stemmed from an classroom experience in a private high school in Tennessee. Hudson made the mistake of saying “the Celtics suck” in class and was punished for it even though his friend had used a far worse profanity [...]

California: Legislator proposes repeal of law protecting lawmakers from disclosure

Democratic Assemblyman Anthony Portantino wants to repeal the Legislative Open Records Act that gives lawmakers legal exemptions from disclosing certain records. The proposed bill would make the legislature subject to the broader California Public Records Act. “Assembly leaders have hidden documents and expenditures from the public long enough. It is hypocritical of the Legislature to [...]

Justice Department refuses to declassify opinion on legality of warrantless surveillance

The Justice Department has refused to declassify a 2001 opinion written by John C. Yoo on the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program. Critics of the program want to obtain the entire 21-page opinion to make sure misguided legal opinions do not live on to guide government policy. -db From Secrecy News, August 26, 2011. by [...]

ACLU sues for records of FBI’s domestic spying

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the FBI and the National Security Agency for withholding information about the eGuardian monitoring system that collects information on “suspicious activity” that may include taking photos of important buildings. The ACLU has been unsuccessful in its attempts to acquire the information through the Freedom of Information Act. The [...]

California: DA enforces state open meeting law concerning Novato affordable housing project

The Marin County district attorney told the Novato City Council they had to remedy an alleged open meeting violation by holding a repeat of its review of an affordable housing project. The new meeting was held August 23. California’s Brown Act, the open meeting law, requires public agencies to post their agendas at least 72 [...]

Supreme Court to review case on access to State Bar racial data

The California Supreme Court will decide if the State Bar must release racial data of those taking the bar exam. An appellate court ruled in June that the information could be made public so long as no private information were revealed. A UCLA law professor who believes affirmative action may  hurt minorities wants the records [...]

Opinion: Celebrity defamation suits inundate courts

Megabuck libel suits filed by and against celebrities are burgeoning despite the low success rate, the huge lawyer fees and the bad publicity that inevitably arises from the additional attention brought by the lawsuits (Streisand effect). In a commentary in The Hollywood Reporter, Eriq Gardner suggests that a saner approach might be to play down [...]

Chicago: TV station affirmed in excluding Green Party candidate from debates

A federal district judge ruled that a Chicago TV station did not have to include the Illinois Green Party candidate in debates on a privately owned public broadcasting station during the 2010 elections. The judge wrote, “The mere assertions that public broadcasting is heavily regulated and that defendant receives federal funding do not, by themselves, [...]

California: Judge dismisses open meeting lawsuit against Capistrano schools

Schools watchdog Jim Reardon lost his suit against the Capistrano Unified School District when a judge ruled the district properly dealt with an alleged viiolation of California’s Brown Act, the open meeting law. After Reardon challenged the district over a March closed door meeting to  partially restore pay cuts to employees, the district met again [...]

Texas Gov. Perry’s penchant for privacy

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whose campaign for president has faulted Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for purported failure to open the workings of the Fed to public view, has “adopted policies that shroud his own office in a purposeful opaqueness that confounds prying reporters – or any member of the public questioning his policies,” the [...]

Dem. lawmaker proposes bill to apply full FOIA disclosure to CA State Legislature

A Democratic legislator, who has been feuding with party leaders over office budget issues, has proposed a bill that would replace the Legislature’s weak disclosure law with the more rigorous freedom-of-information rules that apply to the Governor and all state agencies. -PS Read full story in LA Times

A&A: Sheriff’s office won’t release names of inmates held on immigration charges

Q: I’m working on a story about inmates in county jail released into ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement)  custody. Seeking records of these individuals has brought up two questions. The first: are records of jail inmates (aka booking info) public? The county sheriff’s office says no. The second: are local jails prohibited from release names of [...]

Tabloid gossip threatens credibility of mainstream journalism

The sight of the mainstream media picking up tabloid speculation about a Will and Jada Pinkett Smith breakup is distubing, writes Mary Elizabeth Williams in a commentary for Salon, “…the Smith story…illuminates how utterly pathetic the mainstream media’s mania for headlines has become. Just toss up any old dubious report, and if you’re really butt-covering, [...]

Parents go to court for details of $100 million Facebook donation to reform Newark schools

With support from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Newark Secondary Parent Council (SPC) is asking the City of Newark to release correspondence from the city to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg involving  Zuckerberg’s $100 million gift to the Newark schools so that the parents will know of any stipulations the gift might carry. Said Laura Baker [...]

Murdoch uses media to promote business interests

Embattled News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch has routinely used his media holdings to promote his business interests, writes Joe Flint in a commentary in the Los Angeles Times. Flint says that notwithstanding his conservative stance, Murdoch has not hesitated to ally with liberal politicians including Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. Flint also describes how Murdoch [...]

Big Brother emerges in guise of Ohio congressman

Republican Congressman Steve Chabot of Ohio didn’t like his chances of avoiding an embarrassing Youtube video from going viral on the internet so he did what a self-interested politician might do. He enlisted the police to confiscate cameras from citizens attending a townhall meeting. The only trouble is that he now has to contend with [...]

A&A: How are non-print media regulated in schools?

Q: Does California Ed Code 48907 apply to non-print media (ie: school news broadcasts via TV or internet)? If not, is there another code protecting non-print media and if so, where can I find documentation to support an effort to protect the same freedoms as EC 48907 for my TV Broadcasting students in a high [...]

Company owning community newspapers files for bankruptcy

In filing for bankruptcy, West Communications said its revenues declined 25 percent since 2007 mostly from a drop in ad revenue. The company owns eight small newspapers in California and Oregon including The Union Democrat in Sonora. Westcom said it failed in a bid to renegotiate the terms of its debt to Bank of America [...]

Author recounts 60s battle for free expression in high school

Author Mike Marqusee clashed with administrators at Scarsdale High School in New York in 1968 first over a request to register the radical Students for a Democratic Society as a club and later over student-initiated teacher evaluation forms. He was suspended from school for distributing the forms. Marqusee says freedom of expression in schools allows [...]

State court rules no libel in stating connection between imams and suspected terrorists

A New York trial court ruled that merely stating that three imams had worked in the state prisons where four suspected Muslim terrorists were incarcerated was not a factual assertion that accused the imams of radicalizing the suspects. The court ruled that the New York Post article containing the statement had not libeled the imams. [...]

California: Dispute about what Capistrano schools must do to rectify open meeting violation

Sam Capistrano resident Jim Reardon sued the Capistrano Unified School District  in March claiming the board held a closed door meeting to partially restore teacher salaries and failed to report their actions. Without acknowledging a violation of the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law, the board subsequently held a public meeting to discuss teacher salaries, [...]

BART feud shows that censorship is never local

BY NICOLE WONG—Here’s the thing about censorship: in this globally connected world, censorship is never local. So, whether you live in the SF Bay Area or not, whether you ride the BART rail system or not, the recent actions of local government officials affected us all. Last Thursday, during the evening rush hour commute, BART [...]

New survey: People want more government transparency, traditional media less likely to sue to get it

COLUMBIA, Mo. (August 23, 2011) — While a lack of resources have made news organizations increasingly less inclined to file freedom of information lawsuits, citizens have a growing interest in government transparency and are becoming more active in asserting their right to government information. The rise of citizen interest and the decline of newsroom aggressiveness [...]

A&A: City Council allowing presentation not on the agenda

Q: At our last City Council meeting our mayor personally invited a federal government agent to speak during our public comment session, although this presentation was not on the agenda.  Our mayor allowed him to speak over the allowed three minute time period and  allowed City Council members to ask questions of this man, but [...]

California: Two board members leave closed session fearing violation of open meeting law

Two board members for Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare bolted from a closed door meeting fearing that the panel had violated the Brown Act, California’s open meeting act. One of the two requested a legal review of the issue during the meeting and left when he was not happy with the response. An anonymous source said [...]

Lohan sues for rap song she claims hurt her reputation

Lindsay Lohan is suing the rapper Pitbull and associates for mentioning her arrest record in his hit, “Give Me Everything.” The song goes “he’s got it locked up, like Lindsay Lohan.” Given her rap sheet, that seems like an innocuous reference, but Lohan claims the song released March 18 has injured her career and caused [...]

Federal Communicatons Commission kills fairness doctrine

The Federal Communications Commission officially ended the era of the fairness doctrine that has not been enforced since 1987. Companies with broadcasting license were required to present opposing viewpoints. In the 1960s stations ran public service spots about the risks of smoking to counter their cigarette ads. President Ronald Reagan vetoed a bill in 1987 [...]

Carolina court dismisses libel suit brought against Indian TV network

A North Carolina court dismissed a libel suit against an Indian television network for reporting rumors that a man pushed his pregnant wife out of a moving car. The fight grew out of a dispute over a dowry. The husband claimed that his wife had suffered brain injuries when he rolled his car after he [...]

A&A: Does Ohio law allow videotaping of council meetings?

Q: I have a local AM talk radio show in Ohio. Recently, I decided to visit my local council meetings and digitally record them on my computer. This seemed to have made a certain councilman angry. My question is, that I consider the act of recording a public council meeting and then airing portions of [...]

Libel: Insurance executive files $60 million suit against Eliot Spitzer

A former insurance executive is suing former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer for a column in Slate.com on an insurance bid-rigging scandal that said the man was guilt of crimes. In fact, the executive’s conviction was thrown out of court before the column was published. The executive, William Gilman, said Spitzer was acting out of [...]

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