FAC sues US for memo on “lethal targeting” of al Qaeda figure (& US citizen) al-Awlaki, killed in 2010 drone strike

SAN RAFAEL, CA—-The First Amendment Coalition (FAC) today filed suit to require the Obama Administration to make public its legal rationale for the “lethal targeting” of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American- born US citizen and al-Qaeda operative who was killed in a CIA drone strike in Yemen last September. The lawsuit seeks public access under the [...]

U.S. prosecution looming larger for News Corp

With new information surfacing about reporters at the Sun engaging in extensive bribery of public officials, the odds are increasing that the United States will prosecute News Corp under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that forbids firms operating in the U.S. from bribing foreign officials. -db From The Guardian, February 27, 2012, by Dominic Rushe. [...]

Intelligence analysis firm says U.S. preparing indictment of Julian Assange

United States prosecutors are planning to indict WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, on espionage or conspiracy charges according to e-mails from Stratfor, an intelligence analysis company that works for the federal government. WikiLeaks and Anonymous obtained the e-mails through hacking and are releasing them to news media throughout the world including The Sidney Morning Herald. -db [...]

Government considers problems of open access to government-funded scientific research in digital age

The Obama administration is considering a middle way in its attempts to balance the need to protect peer-review in scientific research and the demand for open access on the Web. In the meantime, bills on different sides of the dispute are pending in Congress but are not expected to go far in an election year. [...]

Opinion: Obama administration refuses to release secret memos over drone killing of U.S. citizen

After it came to light that secret legal memos existed backing a “targeted killing” policy, the Obama administration blocked the release of the memos. Writing for the Citizens Media Law Project, Justin Silverman makes a case for transparency particularly in the case that the government is hiding an important policy rationale behind a secrecy shield. [...]

Opinion: Writer claims New York Times distorting impact of Citizens United

Writer and civil libertarian Wendy Kaminer says that The New York Times is so badly distorting the facts about the nature of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Citizens United that it appears to be intentional. “…mistakes about Citizens United are beginning to look more like propaganda, because even after being alerted to its misstatements, the [...]

Secruities Exchange Commission may consider rule requiring public companies to disclose political spending

In a recent speech, Luis Aguilar of the Securities and Exchange Commission called for the commission to consider requiring public companies to disclose it spending on political causes. Aguilar said shareholders had a right to the information so they could make wise investment decisions. -db From Law.com, February 28, 2012, by Sue Reisinger. Full story [...]

Maryland bill would bar colleges from monitoring athletes’ social media posts

The Maryland legislature is considering a law preventing colleges from requiring athletes to allow school administrators to monitor their messages and posts on the social media. Questions arise over the constitutionality of colleges funded by the government interfering with the free speech rights of students. -db From a commentary for the Citizens Media Law Project, [...]

WikiLeaks and Anonymous ready to publish e-mails from private intelligence firm

WikiLeaks and Anonymous have joined for the first time to release a number of e-mails from the private intelligence firm Stratfor. The e-mails were obtained through hacking and Anonymous sought the help of WikiLeaks in analyzing and disseminating them. -db From Wired, February 26, 2012, by Quinn Norton. Full story    

California court upholds application of state anti-spam law

A California state appeals court ruled that federal law does not supersede the state’s anti-spam law. The ruling came in a case contesting the right of an Internet advertising company to use private domain name registrations to prevent recipients from easily identifying the sender. -db From the Metropolitan News-Enterprise, February 27, 2012, by Kenneth Ofgang. [...]

Federal judge allows subpoena forcing Twitter to reveal identity of anonymous Tweeter

A federal judge said an anonymous Tweeter who posted that he wanted to “engage in sadomasochistic activities” with former Republican presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann could not quash a subpoena forcing Twitter to reveal his identity. The judge said that the man’s threat was so egregious that the government had a compelling interest in knowing his [...]

St. Louis man triumphs in free speech case concerning ‘oversized’ mural

A St. Louis man won a free speech case against the city over its sign ordinance. The city had ordered the man to remove a 360 foot-square mural from the side of an apartment building that read: “End eminent domain abuse.” The city said the sign violated the size restriction in its sign ordinance. -db [...]

Federal appeals court rules government can withhold mug shots

The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the federal government does not have to release pretrial mug shots under the Freedom of Information Act. The court rejected the argument that releasing the mug shots would serve public oversight interests. -db From the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, February 22, 2012, by [...]

California: Stanislaus County mayors’ meetings challenged over compliance with open meeting law

An editorial in The Modesto Bee argues that even if the Stanislaus County’s mayors are not breaking the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law, in the interests of transparency and  public trust, they should post agendas and open the meetings to the public. -db From an editorial in The Modesto Bee, February 25, 2012. Full story

California: Oceano board acts to correct open meeting breach

In the face of community pressure and legal threat, the Oceano Community Servies District is changing its way of conducting business. The board is allowing public comment after staff reports and vacating a closed meeting vote on an increase in the pay for the interim general manager.  -db From The Tribune, February 23, 2012, by [...]

California Supreme Court allows Tulare supervisors’ closed lunch meetings

The California Supreme Court denied the review of a case brought against the Tulare County Board of Supervisors for holding 30 plus lunchtime meetings behind closed doors. Open government advocate State Senator Leland Yee immediately declared his intention to introduce a law to outlaw such meetings. The supervisors claimed the meetings were unofficial, for morale-building [...]

California: Day laborers win free speech case

In letting a lower court ruling stand, the U.S. Supreme Court gave day laborers the right to solicit work from passing drivers. Redondo Beach had banned the solicitation with criminal penalties, but the 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals said that the solicitation was no different from others allowed such as children’s lemonade stands and [...]

A&A: School board offered settlement based on bad information; how can I set the record straight?

Q:  I am a member of a school board that recently voted to support a settlement agreement with a six-figure employee who we terminated. The settlement was designed to make the costs related to the termination finite. I supported the termination and opposed the settlement for a variety of reasons. It has come to light [...]

Food and Drug Administration under fire for booting whistleblowers

Six scientists and physician are contending that the Food and Drug Administration retaliated against them for trying to warn Congress that medical devices were readied for approval without adequate safety reviews. Supervisors who disagreed with the whistleblowers approved all the devices. An editorial in The New York Times contended that the FDA managers responsible for [...]

Free speech: Idaho State professors claim university blocking e-mails

Professors at Idaho State University claim that the administration is blocking their e-mails to and  from a professors union on the faculty e-mail listerv. The professors have taken their complaint to federal court to end the alleged censorship. -db From the Courthouse News Service, February 16, 2012, by Philip A. Janquart. Full story

Federal judge rules local news station not libel Virginia tax accountant

A Virginia accountant will not be able to sue a local news station for including him in a newscast about “unscrupulous” tax preparation firms, a federal judge ruled. The accountant had sued for per-se libel in that  the newscast allegedly described “an unfitness to perform the duties of office or employment for profit, a lack of [...]

Michael Jordan’s lawsuit over ad in Sports Illustrated suffers setback

Former basketball player Michael Jordan lost a round in court that may doom his lawsuit against a Chicago company who ran a congratulatory ad in Sports Illustrated when Jordan was inducted into the Hall of Fame. A federal judge ruled that the ad was “noncommercial speech” and protected under the First Amendment. -db From the [...]

Chicago: Black man says he suffered discrimination in attempting to film officers

A man is suing the City of Chicago and police officers for beating and arresting him for filming officers while they politely asked a white man filming the same scene to stop. Illinois has an eavesdropping law making it illegal to film officers without their consent. -db From the Courthouse News Service, February 15, 2012, [...]

A&A: Suspended from job for posting negative comment on personal, private Facebook page

Q: I am currently suspended from work for posting a thought on facebook regarding my company. I worked for the company for over 2 years, but a recent commission-structure change has made my living difficult (60% less than what it used to be). I then received a company internal email regarding the company’s huge growth [...]

New York Times reporter resists prosecutors’ attempts to gain his CIA source

In a trial of a former CIA employee Jeffrey Sterling, federal prosecutors are trying to force New York Times reporter James Risen to reveal his source of military defense secrets since Risen was the only witness to the crime. In a new brief Risen cites Branzburg v. Hayes in arguing for his right to protect [...]

Photographer wins round in federal appeals court in seeking access to wild horse roundup

A magazine photojournalist will have another day in court in trying for unrestricted access to a roundup of wild horses as a federal appeals court ruled that the government did not consider her First Amendment rights in limiting her. The Bureau of Land Management had argued that the roundup had already occurred, that she was [...]

A&A: City Council dispursed funds without allowing comment by groups they shortchanged

Q: The city council was previously instructed to fairly distribute funds to all domestic violence shelters in L.A.  Members decided to give the majority of the funds to just two of the thirteen shelters and wouldn’t take comments from the 11 shelters that were shortchanged. Our agency in fact serves more people than the two [...]

NCAA attacks journalists who write critical stories

After a particularly damning series of articles by Joe Nocera in The New York Times critical of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s  treatment of student athletes, the NCAA struck back, refuting Nocera on their website.  Since 2009 the NCAA has been aggressive in dealing with reporters, often launching personal attacks against them, sometimes using the [...]

Bill in Arizona legislature would punish teachers for foul words

Republican state lawmakers in Arizona are proposing legislation requiring teachers to limit their words to comply with the Federal Communications Commission standards for on-air speech. Under the law a teacher could be fired after a third offense. From The Republic , February 12, 2012, by Alia Beard Rau. Full story

California political watchdog relaxes bite on ethical issues

California’s Fair Political Practices Commission has decided to hold fewer open meetings and will not notify the public of pending investigations, raising the hackles of open government advocates. The Commission is charged with enforcing election laws, laws on lobbying and conflicts of interest involving public employees including elected officials and the governor. -db From the [...]

Racecar builder sues NASCR driver and Jacked-Up Energy Drinks for defamation

A racecar builder says NASCAR Matt McCall and Jacked-Up Energy Drinks defamed him when they withdrew from a contract to sponsor his car in 2011. In his complaint, the builder claimed that the defendants in the libel suit lied when they said “the plaintiff could not be trusted in the handling of monetary funds, that [...]

Federal appeals court in Texas upholds Houston newsrack ordinance

A federal appeals court ruled against the Houston Tribune, a free monthly newspaper who claimed their First Amendment rights were violated by a Houston newsrack ordinance. The ordinance requires newsracks to meet certain specifications in material, size and placement and for the publishers to pay a permit fee. -db From the Courthouse News Service, February [...]

Obama administration pushes for greater authority for admiral deploying elite strike force

The admiral leading the Special Operations Command, the military unit that killed Osama bin Laden,  is asking for greater authority to take rapid action outside of normal channels within the Pentagon. In the past, regional military commanders and the State Department have opposed such arrangements. -db From The New York Times, February 12, 2012, by [...]

Colorado legislature to consider repealing state’s criminal libel law

A Colorado legislator introduced a measure to repeal the state’s criminal libel statute. As of now a person can go to jail for publishing libel. The legislator was inspired to introduce the law by the case of a former student at the University of Colorado who posted a photo of a professor on the Internet [...]

A&A: Accessing police records on frequent use or misuse of helicopters hovering above my neighborhood

Q: I am writing to inquire what I can do to obtain a Los Angeles police report. Their website reports are only disclosed to the victims, and references Section 6254 of the Government Code (para. f) which seems to support their limited release. I’m requesting the documents to investigate the use, or misuse, of helicopters [...]

Whistleblowers profit from identifying maritime polluters

Without whistleblowers, it would be difficult to apprehend many of the 10 to 15 percent of commercial vessels illegally dumping oil and sludge into the ocean. And the whistleblowers stand to profit, in one recent case, the award close to $1 million. -db From The New York Times, February 13, 2012, by Theo Emery. Full [...]

Journalist deported to Saudi Arabia to stand charges for apostasy

Malaysia deported a journalist to Saudi Arabia where he will face charges and possibly the death penalty for writing about the Prophet Muhammad. The journalist fled Saudi Arabia when he provoked public outrage for writing on Twitter about an imaginary meeting with the Prophet Muhammad. -db From The New York Times, February 12, 2012, by [...]

CIA makes use of review process of classification documents more difficult

The Central Intelligence Agency has made it harder to use the Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) process to challenge classification status of government records. Classifications have been overturned  through the MDR, but now the CIA is charging those using the review process up to $72 per hour even if no documents are found or released. -db [...]

Government relies on advanced surveillance technology to find leakers

With the Obama administration aggressively prosecuting government workers for revealing classified information to the media, journalists are finding it more difficult in the age of improved surveillance technology to protect their sources. It used to be that the government had to pressure the journalists directly for the identities of their sources, but increasingly they can [...]

Senate Judiciary Committee votes to allow cameras in U.S. Supreme Court

Open government got a boost when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11 to 7 to allow Supreme Court sessions to be televised. Under the proposed law, the court could still vote to turn off the cameras if they felt the cameras could violate the due process rights of any of the parties before the Court. [...]

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