Government study of leaks of classified documents calls for dialogue with media

A study of leaks of classified information says that the friction caused by interests in keeping national security secrets and in the public’s right to know can be mitigated to some extent through improved understanding and management achieved partly through dialogue between the government and media. WikiLeaks has changed the secrecy terrain, writes Steven Aftergood [...]

Los Angeles: Suit filed to overturn judge’s decision on opening juvenile courts to media

The Children’s Law Center, which advocates for children in juvenile court, is suing in a state appeals court to overturn a Los Angeles judge’s decision to allow the media into juvenile hearings. The center says the ruling wrongly puts the interests of the public and media above the interests of those suffering child abuse and [...]

California: Long Beach must disclose names of police officers involved in shootings

A California appeals court ruled that cities cannot withhold the name of a police officer involved in shootings unless they provide evidence of a specific threat against the officer. The judge said it’s common practice to identify officers and there was a strong public interest in knowing who was involved in shootings. -db From the San [...]

Bill backed by media workers would open California state prisons to journalists

A media access bill allowing journalists into California state prisons stands a chance to become law. Eight previous versions of the law were vetoed by three governors. The bill would not only allow journalists to talk with inmates but also prohibit officials from punishing inmates for doing so. -db From the Fog City Journal, February [...]

California appeals court rules sexual harassment complaint against teacher public record

A Santa Monica math teacher lost a lawsuit in a California appeals court to keep a sexual harassment complaint against him private. The court found substantial public interest in the release of details of the investigation into a parent’s charge that the teacher sexually harassed his thirteen-year-old daughter. The charge was not fully substantiated. -db [...]

California: Newspaper seeks information on robbery in Alameda

After tipsters told the Action Alameda News that the Alameda Police Department was trying to cover up a robbery at a restaurant in December of 2011, the newspaper made a public records request on the incident. The police denied that there was a coverup and denied access to 911 tapes saying that they were exempt [...]

Federal appeals court to consider suit over identity of informants

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will get another chance to protect the identity of informants in the investigation of a real estate kickback scheme in Hawaii. HUD had lost a round in an Hawaiian court when a three-judge panel said the agency failed to explain why it redacted the names of informants [...]

Video of drug agent shooting himself ruled matter of public interest

An agent for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration lost a ruling in federal appeals court when the court ruled that  a video that went viral of his accidentally shooting himself during a public lecture did not violate the  Privacy Act. The agent claimed that the video was part of an investigation into the shooting and [...]

Open government: Senators propose bill on secret expansion of Patriot Act powers

A bill proposed by Senators Roy Wyden and Mark Udall would require the U.S. intelligence chief to admit to interpreting the Patriot Act to give the government massive domestic surveillance powers not granted by Congress. In a letter last week to Wyden and Udall, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper admitted to the secret legal [...]

Baptist deacon loses bid to go by pseudonym in trial over abusing teen-agers

A U.S. magistrate judge ruled that a ex-Baptist deacon accused of sexually abusing one of his female parishioners could not go by a psuedonym during his trial. The judge said the deacon’s desire to avoid embarrassing revelations did not outweigh the public’s right to know, “”Allegations of sexual assault of a minor is [sic] of [...]

Government secrets: How many and for how long?

In a memorandum just made public this week, then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said in 2005 tht the government secrecy system was a failure, that the government was incapable of keeping a secret and policies need to be crafted to deal with that reality. One current government official said Rumsfeld’s initial premise was wrong. The [...]

Editorial alleges Bay Area Rapid Transit violating open meeting law with subcommittes

A Contra Costa Times editorial alleges that Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is violating the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law, by establishing 20 subcommittees that meet behind closed doors. BART claims they are only advisory committees, but the editorial argues that even so they violate the spirit and letter of the law. The editorial [...]

Federal appeals court affirms access to sentencing of criminals

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that the press and public have a First Amendment right to attend the sentencing of a criminal defendant. The court also said that there must be public notice and a chance for the public to comment before the sentencing. The court noted that there was [...]

Open government group plans to sue for photos of Osama bin Laden’s dead body

Judicial Watch is filing a request under the Freedom of Information act to obtain photos of Osama bin Laden after he was shot dead in a CIA raid in Pakistan. Judical Watch president Tom Fitton says the public’s right to know outweighs President Barack Obama’s reasons for withholding the photos, “We are prepared to sue [...]

South Pasadena under investigation for alleged Brown Act violation

The district attorney is checking into whether the South Pasadena City Council violated California’s Brown Act, the open meeting law, in interviewing prospective police chiefs in close session. -db San Jose Mercury News October 14, 2010 By Brian Charles SOUTH PASADENA – The District Attorney’s Office is investigating whether the City Council violated provisions of [...]

ACLU asks for more transparency in disclosing legal rulings on federal surveillance

The American Civil Liberties Union has commented on new rules by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court regarding public access to court records by asking the FISC to disclose records of significant rulings. -db American Civil Liberties Union Press Release October 4, 2010 NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today submitted comments on new [...]

Court orders release of priests’ records in abuse cases

A California court of appeals found that compelling public interest in the release of confidential records of priests sued for molesting children outweighed the priests’ rights to privacy. -db Metropolitan News-Enterprise October 1, 2010 By a MetNews Staff Writer Psychiatric and other confidential records of priests whose molestation of children resulted in lawsuits against their [...]

Los Angeles County supervisors seek doctor peer review records

L.A. County supervisors are seeking doctors’ peer review documents to monitor patient safety and improve their ability to settle malpractice claims. -db Los Angeles Times August 28, 2010 By Molly Hennessy-Fiske In a fight that could have wide-ranging implications, Los Angeles County supervisors are pushing to see confidential medical records used by county doctors to evaluate [...]

Southern California: Private Catholic high school blocks access to coach’s punishment

A Catholic high school refuses to release the details of a football coach’s punishment for a recruiting violation claiming  the school is private and not subject to the California Public Records Act. -db Los Angeles Times Opinion June 13, 2010 By Eric Sondheimer Transparency and openness are virtues that parents and students expect from their [...]

Illinois: Chief federal judge issues opinion against opening court to cameras

Federal District Judge Joe Billy McCade felt it important to open his court to cameras for a hearing in a Champaign, Illinois school racial discrimination suit to ensure wide access. The chief judge issued an opinion critical of the action that prompted McCade to reverse himself. The opinion cited federal law and judicial rule in [...]