California: Appeals court sides with plaintiffs on court costs in Tulare County lunch meeting suit

Without comment a California appeals court reversed an order that the Times-Delta/Advance-Register and allies pay legal costs for Tulare County in a Brown Act suit. The newspaper and others had charged that the Tulare County Board of Supervisors violated the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law, by conducting a series of lunch meetings closed [...]

A&A: Denied access to supervision records of high-risk parolee

Q: Message I’m trying to obtain records of supervision for a high-risk parolee who is accused of murder. I sent a public records request and received a rejection letter that cites dozens of government codes in its defense. But I wonder if there’s a way to fight that rejection. After all, that information has become [...]

CNET provides guide to effects on public of Stop Online Piracy Act

A guide published by CNET describes the effects on the public of the Stop Online Piracy Act should it pass Congress and signed into law. The law would affect Internet free speech, security and innovation. -db From a commentary for CNET, November 21, 2011, by Declan McCullagh. Full story  

Village Voice says concerns over its adult ads overblown

Religious groups and law enforcement officials say that the Village Voice Media is abetting child sex trafficking by running adult ads on its website, backpage.com. But the Voice says the concerns are overblown. A university researcher lends some support to the Voice with the finding that a majority of minors selling sex do so without [...]

Pharmaceutical industry: Free speech rights run up against limits on product claims

Merck agreed to pay $950 million to settle a suit over its claims for the painkiller Vioxx withdrawn from sales for increasing the chance of heart attack. But companies are aggressively challenging the government in its attempts to held industries accountable for the truthfulness of their promotions. -db From the Philadelphia Inquirer, November 27, 2011, [...]

Tennessee airport loses fight to ban newspaper racks

After dropping nearly a million dollars in legal bills, the Raleigh-Durham International Airport came to an agreement with the newspapers  to allow coin-operated newspaper vending boxes back into the airport. A federal district court had ruled that the ban on news racks violated the First Amendment. -db From the News Observer, November 26, 2011, by [...]

Grad student devises software to ferret out false claims in articles

A MIT Media Lab student is writing software that will highlight false claims in articles in the same way as spell check.  The software is expected to be ready some time next year before the presidential elections. But the grad student warns that the software only identifies what PolitiFact deems dubious leaving the determination of [...]

Federal appeals court okays profanity in citizen’s petition to city

A city cannot reject a petition from a citizen just because the citizen peppers his appeal with profanities and insults ruled the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Colorado. The court rejected the contention that the petition lost its constitutional protection because it contained “fighting words.” -db From the First Amendment Center, November 18, 2011, [...]

Tennessee judge opens Russian adoption case

The  Tennessee judge presiding over the lawsuit over the return of an adopted 9-year-old boy to Russia ruled that the court documents be unsealed. A court memo indicated that there were no facts presented to justify sealing the case and that the 9-year-old was living in Russia far from the harsh light of publicity about [...]

Free speech: Kansas governor admits screwup in complaining to school about student’s tweet

A Kansas high school student refused to accede to a demand from her prinicpal to apologize to Governor Sam Brownback for a derogatory tweet made during his speech. The Governor had ratted her out to the principal. After the Governor apologized for telling on her, the student raised the ante by saying the apology was [...]

Call it the Not-so-public Utilities Commission

If you’re worried about natural gas pipelines running near your home or business, prepare for a long battle to get key information from California’s Public Utilities Commission. Under a 60-year-old law, vast numbers of documents — including regulatory reports and safety studies — are secret, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. What’s more, PG&E often has [...]

A&A: School board keeping exorbitant attorney fees in closed session

Q: As a school board member I have tried, but failed, to have the copious exorbitant legal billings by the district’s attorney released to the public.  So far the attorney’s fees of $50k to $70k per month (the amount of almost $1million is rapidly approaching) have been discussed in closed session and the rest of the [...]

Smackdown protected by First Amendment?

A New York law prohibiting the promotion of Ultimate Fighting, or mixed martial arts, may run afoul of the First Amendment says Dahlia Lithwick in Slate. The object of the ban seems to be pubic performances rather than its practice in gyms or watching it on television thus the contention that the ban is a [...]

Opinion: China’s censorship regimen spreading around the world

Totalitarian regimes around the world are successfully using the Chinese model of censorship against their citizens, reports David Rohde in a commentary for Reuters. Rohde says the Stop Online Piracy Act would seriously erode the ability of the United States to fight the new tide of international Internet censorship. -db From a commentary for Reuters, [...]

California: Former Manhattan Beach city manager sues for invasion of privacy

A former Manhattan Beach city manager is suing the city for disclosing records that he claims were supposed to be secret as part of a severance package. The city attorney said the city was acting in the public interest in its commitment to transparency. The former city manager felt that allegations of sexual harassment made [...]

California: Barstow School Board alleged to violate open meetings laws

An expert in open government law challenged the Barstow School Board contention that they had not violated the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law, in failing to report a vote out of closed session. The school board was considering the resignation of the school superintendent. -db From the Desert Dispatch, November 21, 2011. by [...]

Opinion: Online Piracy Act seen as censorship threat

The Stop Online Piracy Act would bring China-style Internet censorship to the United States, argues Rebecca MacKinnon in an op-ed in The New York Times. MacKinnon said the bill before Congress, designed to protect intellectual property, would “inflict collateral damage on democratic discourse and dissent both at home and around the world.” -db From an [...]

Opinion: Los Angeles schools errs in keeping teacher ratings from public

The Los Angeles Unified School District is thwarting the public’s right to know how teachers rated in value-added evaluations saying that the disclosures would be “embarrassing and painful” to teachers. Parents have the right to know how students are faring under their teachers argues Jim Newton in an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times. -db [...]

California Supreme Court to hear case on fitness of lying journalist to practice law

The California Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether Stephen Glass, formerly of The New Republic, is fit to be admitted to the State Bar. Glass’ articles were widely acclaimed before it became clear that 27 of his 41 stories contained fabrications. -db From The Recorder, November 17, 2011, by Cheryl Miller. Full story  

Opinion: WikiLeaks made significant contributions to the right to know

WikiLeaks has changed the face of journalism and contributed more scoops this year than any other media outlet, reports Trevor Timm in a commentary for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In using the Espionage Act to prosecute WikiLeaks, the federal government poses a real threat to the mainsream media and the First Amendment, argues Timm. -db [...]

Federal court sanctions federal government for lying about existence of records on surveillance of Muslim groups

A federal district court in California objected to the FBI’s practice of withholding information from the court whenever it thinks it serves the interest of national security. While the court said national security interests could justify withholding the information about targeting Muslim organizations from the Islamic Shura Council and its attorneys, it could not block [...]

Oregon college instructor claims free speech violated by suspension

A deaf University of Oregon sign language instructor claims that the university violated his free speech rights by suspending him for a comment that he says students took out of context.-db From the Courthouse News Service, November 28, 2011, by Nick McCann. Full story  

Hurricane Katrina relief organization seeking details of FBI infiltration

The FBI has refused a Freedom of Information Act request for documents relating to the use of an inside informant on the work of  Common Ground Relief, a group dedicated to Hurricane Katrina relief and critical of the Bush administration’s response to the disaster. The FBI said releasing the documents would violate the privacy of [...]

Washington state: Supreme Court rules anti-gay petitioners can’t hide identities

The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed disclosure of signatures for a Washington referendum to overturn a law granting domestic partners the same rights as married couples. The opponents of gay marriage had argued that they would be subject to threats, harassment and reprisals if the signatures were released to the public. -db From the Courthouse [...]

Defense Department makes it easier to obtain court filings in Guantanamo trials

As trials of accused terrorists begin at Guantanamo Bay, the Defense Department released new regulations designed to create better access to court filings. Journalists have objected to the long review processes for obtaining court filings without which they were lost when covering the trials. -db From The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, November [...]

Federal judge rules critic of international spiritual organization can remain anonymous

A federal district judge in San Jose ruled that a blogger does not have to reveal his identity to the Art of Living Foundation that promotes spirituality lessons of Ravi Shankar. The blogger had published criticisms of the foundation along with one of  their manuals, an act that the foundation said infringed its copyright. The [...]

A&A: Can new board member get updated on past closed sessions?

Q: I am a newly elected school board member. Our upcoming agenda will contain a closed session item that has also been discussed in closed session prior to my appointment. Can I ask the staff and board members who participated in the prior closed session to divulge what was discussed? A: I am not aware [...]

A&A: Reporter denied access to a court decision made against a school district

Q: I’m a reporter trying to access information regarding a lawsuit against the local school district. A decision was made but so far, no documents of that decision have reached the court records department. The only document filed is a single-page notation that the case was heard. There’s no indication the records have been sealed. [...]

A&A: Should I need authorization to access arrest records?

Q: I submitted a request arrest and incident reports from a police department for a case involving my client but I got a call from someone in the Records Department who said that I needed to submit signed authorization from my client. Is that the case in your practice? A: If a person were submitting [...]

A&A: Does a councilmember use of personal email address mean all messages are exempt?

Q: I was wondering if a city councilmember uses his personal email address as his primary source of contact, lists it on a city’s website as his email address, if any communication done on that email address is still exempt from the California Public Records Act? Is any legislation is coming down the line to [...]

A&A: Blogger ‘s identity exposed, and legal threats made against her

Q: I am writing today for guidance regarding my rights as a blogger. I am the author of a cosmetics complaints blog and creator and one of the admins of the complaints Facebook Page. The blog and page initially were started in an effort to obtain a refund from a cosmetics company due to sanitation [...]

A&A: Can the city manager demand political cartoons removed from senior center?

Q: Recently the city manager sent an e-mail to the president of the senior center regarding complaints  his office had received about the local newspaper’s political cartoons being posted on the wall inside the senior center. While the senior center is owned by the city, a local nonprofit pays rent on the building, maintains it [...]

C-SPAN asks U.S. Supreme Court to allow live broadcast of hearing on health care law

C-SPAN wants the U.S. Supreme Court to break tradition and allow live television coverage of the oral arguments next March on the constitutionality of the federal health care law. C-SPAN cited the importance of the hearings to the presidential and congressional elections. -db From SCOTUSBlog, November 15, 2011, by Lyle Denniston. Full story  

Penn State sex abuse scandal may bring changes to open records laws

Because in 2007 Penn State was granted immunity to Pennsylvania’s public records law, the university can keep information out of public reach, but that could change as state legislators question the status quo. Currently the university is under no legal mandate to release records of any transactions concerning the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse except to [...]

Opnion: The Stop Online Piracy Act would would adversely affect journalists

If passed in its present form, the Stop Online Piracy Act would subject articles to censorship in blocking articles from appearing on sites accused of piracy, writes Jessica Ray for 10,000 Words. Even if one site contained content deemed illegal, the entire site could be blocked. Internet innovation and creativity would also take a hit. [...]

Sponsor of online piracy bill voices concerns over censorship issues

Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Lamar Smith R-Texas, expressed concerns over the scope of the Stop Online Piracy Act by saying that he was uncertain whether the Justice Department should be allowed to obtain court orders demanding that ISPs prevent users from visiting blacklisted websites, websites accused of infringing on intellectual property. Under [...]

Opinion: Internet community suffers double whammy over exclusion from House online piracy hearing

The webcast of the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the Stop Online Piracy Act or SOPA was of such poor quality that the Internet community was effectively shut out until the question and answer period. The community is also concerned that the committee is only asking one representative of the technology sector to testify. -db [...]

Blogger’s right to anonymity upheld in federal court

A federal district judge held that a blogger could remain anonymous since his First Amendment rights were paramont to discovery needs in a defamation case. The “Skywalker,” as the blogger is known, is charged with defaming the spiritual leader of the Art of Living Foundation. From the Courthouse News Service, November 16, 2011, by Maria [...]

If passed Online Piracy Act likely to face court challenges

Legislation backed by the entertainment industry to protect copyrights by stopping online piracy , the Stop Online Piracy Act, has support in Congress. But powerful interests including Google are poised to challenge the law if passed. -db From a commentary for the First Amendment Center, November 17, 2011, by David L. Hudson Jr. Full story [...]

Freedom of information: Muslim group blocked from seeing FBI investigative guidelines

A federal district judge ruled that the Justice Department does not have to provide a Muslim civil rights group with FBI investigative guidelines. The judge held that revealing the guidelines would compromise the FBI’s ability to conduct investigations and prosecutions. -db From  The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, November 15, 2011, by J.C. [...]

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