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First Amendment Coalition

FAC Supports CA Senate Bill 1421 to Disclose Police Misconduct Files

If passed, CA Senate Bill 1421 will bring long-overdue transparency to records relating to police misconduct. [Read More ]

Trolls, Tweets & Free Speech: The First Amendment on College Campuses

Watch: Trolls, Tweets & Free Speech on College Campuses

On April 18, Public Radio’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez and FAC’s David Snyder hosted a panel on campus free speech. [Watch Now.]

Seeking Applicants for FAC's First Legal Fellow

If you are a highly-motivated lawyer with excellent credentials and familiarity with the relevant areas of law please apply now.

First Amendment News

Opinion /Coalition News/1st Amendment News/Asked & Answered

On Access
Opinion from Executive Director David Snyder

The Tyranny of the Minority: A Post-Charlottesville Theory of the First Amendment

BY DAVID SNYDER—The framers of the U.S. Constitution understood the protections of the First Amendment to be a bulwark against the “tyranny of the majority” — a shield to protect those with unpopular views against oppression by a popularly elected majority. President Donald Trump has turned this concept on its… ∞

Memo to Future Historians of the Trump Presidency: Good Luck. You’ll Need It.

BY DAVID SNYDER --Tucked into a February 13 Washington Post article about internal chaos at the White House is a stunning sentence, slipped in almost as an aside: White House “[s]taffers, meanwhile, are so fearful of being accused of talking to the media that some have resorted to a secret… ∞

How Trump’s War on Free Speech Threatens the Republic

BY DAVID SNYDER—On May 17, while delivering a graduation speech to cadets at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, a scandal-plagued President Donald Trump took the opportunity to complain, yet again, about the news media. No leader in history, he said, has been treated as unfairly as he… ∞

First Amendment News
Headlines from Across the Country

Trump’s fake news allegations boost ratings and readership for news outlets

With The New York Times and The Washington Post leading the surge, news media of all stripes under attack from President Donald Trump are reaping benefits in increased audience numbers and revenues. That trend will only continue with the midterm elections in sight. (CNBC, April 23, 2018, by Michelle Castillo)… ∞

First Amendment ruling: Sixth Circuit Appeals Court strikes down Ohio law depriving Planned Parenthood of federal funds

An Ohio federal appeals court blocked a 2016 law depriving Planned Parenthood of federal funds. The law was intended to punish the agency for providing abortions, but the judges ruled unanimously that Planned Parenthood provided many other services and was unfairly a target for supporting abortion rights with its own… ∞

California open government roundup: Los Angeles man plans appeal in fine for attempting to film public meeting

A man attempting to film a meeting of a sheriff commission in 2017 in a federal courthouse was escorted out of the meeting and fined for scuffling with security. YouTuber Gil Gileno appealed the fine only to lose with the judge emphasizing that security in a federal building was a… ∞

Coalition News
FAC News & Initiatives

FAC Receives Three-Year, $375,000 Grant From Jonathan Logan Family Foundation

The First Amendment Coalition today announced that the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation has committed $375,000 over the next three years to support FAC’s work defending free speech and the public’s right to know. “FAC is grateful to the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation for this vital and substantial gift, which provides… ∞

FAC Helps Defeat Effort by School District to Recover Nearly $500K in Attorneys Fees From Records Requester

A court in Hayward, CA yesterday denied an unprecedented effort by a public school district to recover nearly half a million dollars in attorneys fees from a woman who had requested public records from the district. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Brand ruled that the motion by the Newark… ∞

CA Senate Bill 1421 Would Bring Desperately Needed Transparency to Police Misconduct Files

The First Amendment Coalition strongly supports California Senate Bill 1421, which would bring long-overdue transparency to records relating to police misconduct. The bill would require disclosure of records relating to investigations of serious police misconduct, including officer-involved shootings and instances where police officers have lied under oath. Law enforcement officers… ∞

Asked & Answered
Questions Answered by FAC Lawyers

A&A: CA Police Deny CPRA Request on Six-Month Old Case

Q: Made Request for records under 6257(f) as the “authorized representative”of a victim and police are claiming disclosure would “endanger successful completion” of six-month-old investigation. No objection re standing or anything else just the investigation exemption. They refuse to articulate how disclosure would endanger. Can’t find any case law on this exemption. A: Unfortunately, law enforcement would likely be […]

A&A: Appeal of Superior Court Denial of Writ of Mandate Under Public Records Act

Q: I am litigating a public records act petition for writ of mandate in Superior Court. The tentative initially went in my favor, but after oral argument, the court reversed its position and denied my petition outright. I am considering an appeal. Are appeals of petitions for writ of mandate under the PRA discretionary, or […]

A&A: Brown Act Rules About Late Night Meeting

Q: Three nights ago, my city noticed a special meeting 27 hours prior to holding it. The special meeting was scheduled to occur immediately following a regularly scheduled city council meeting. Regular city council meetings rarely end before 10:00 PM. In this case, the regular meeting did not end until 12:23 AM. Lots of controversy that […]

Legal Hotline

The Legal Hotline gives users quick, free access to FAC’s lawyers for questions about access to public records; your right to attend government meetings; access to court documents and proceedings; and first amendment protections for freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Asked & Answered

A searchable database of questions posed by users like you about their rights under public records laws, open government laws, and first amendment safeguards that have been answered by FAC’s attorneys.

Access to Records

FAC’s incomparable resources for using California and federal to obtain public records, including FAC’s CPRA Primer; the text of the CPRA, and a template for a CPRA request letter for use in requesting public records

Access to Meetings

Links to all of FAC’S resources for California’s open-meetings law, the Brown Act, including our Brown Act Primer on how the law works; the text of the The Ralph M. Brown Act, and a sample “Cure & Correct” demand letter to report a violation of the law.

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