First Amendment Coalition -

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.]

FAC Victory in “Reverse CPRA”: Court Orders Disclosure of Records

The ruling ordered Milpitas to release documents relating to allegations of serious misconduct by former city manager Tom Williams. [Read More]

First Amendment News

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

On Access
Opinion from Executive Director David Snyder

The Hannity Reveal Was Huge News — But Everyone Missed The Most Important Point

BY DAVID SNYDER — When a federal judge ordered President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, to disclose in open court the fact that he considers Fox News host Sean Hannity a client, the Trump Era outrage-industrial complex shifted into high gear. Seeing evidence of some nefarious Deep State plot… ∞

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… ∞

First Amendment News
Headlines from Across the Country

Crisis over family separation underscores need for transparency

Recent events show the immigration system lacks transparency critical to reunite parents and children separated under President Donald's Trump order. Among a number of recommendations, Open the Government is asking Congress to require companies contracted to retain undocumented immigrants to open their operations to the public. (Open Government, June 21,… ∞

ACLU to consider changes in commitment to free speech

The American Civil Liberties Union will determine if their aggressive defense of the First Amendment hurts their fight for social justice, racial equality and women's rights. A leaked memo says that the ACLU will look at examine each free speech case before undertaking it to assess "factors such as the… ∞

Critics hit New York Times for withdrawing Stephen Miller interview

The New York Times withdrew a podcast of an interview with President Donald Trump's domestic policy adviser, Stephen Miller, after the White House asked the Times not to run it since they were unaware it would run on podcast. Some of the interview was on the record, and it was… ∞

Coalition News
FAC News & Initiatives

Ed Chapuis, Katherine Rowlands and Juliet Williams Join FAC Board of Directors

The First Amendment Coalition is delighted to announce the appointment of three new members to its Board of Directors, all working journalists who have made substantial contributions to their craft and to the cause of government transparency in California and beyond: Ed Chapuis, news director for KGTV-10 in San Diego;… ∞

Remembering FAC Founding Father and California Journalism Giant, Frank McCulloch

Frank McCulloch, a giant in California journalism, played an important role in the founding of FAC in 1988. McCulloch was a key editor who helped transition a small Freedom of Information committee, sponsored by the California Newspaper Publishers Association, into an independent organization of journalists, attorneys and FOI/First Amendment experts who would… ∞

FAC Partners with MuckRock to Expand Reach of Open Records, Meetings Database

The First Amendment Coalition today announced a new partnership with MuckRock to extend the reach of FAC’s “Asked and Answered” resource, an extensive database of legal expertise on freedom of information laws and the First Amendment. Through the collaboration, users of MuckRock—a nonprofit that provides sophisticated but easy-to-use online tools… ∞

Asked & Answered
Questions Answered by FAC Lawyers

A&A: Charged as “disorderly person” for asserting my right to free speech by yelling at protesters

Q: I was recently charged as a “disorderly person” after yelling out of my car window, “get off my lawn you fucking faggots,” as I passed people engaged in a protest. Is what I said protected by the First Amendment? A: Speech that insults someone because of race, gender or sexual orientation is understood in general parlance as “hate speech.” […]

A&A: Is Use of Twitter Logo in Political Parody Artwork Protected by the First Amendment?

Q: A vendor is refusing to fulfill an order of artwork that parodies Trump because it includes the Twitter logo. Is the use of the Twitter logo for political parody protected by the First Amendment? If not how best should I proceed in persuading the vendor to print the artwork? A: The scenario you describe […]

A&A: Need Guidance On Gaining Access to Arrest Report

Q: The police department is refusing to release the arrest report I’ve requested. Do they have to release the report under CPRA? A: The police department might be refusing to disclose the arrest report on the ground that it is a law enforcement investigatory record exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act, Gov’t Code § […]

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.

Quick Links

Navigation

FIRST AMENDMENT COALITION