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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 ]

Join Us for a Discussion on Silicon Valley & Regulation of Online Speech

Will tech giants’ battle with trolls jeopordize free speech? Help us tackle that question at the Digital Townsquare. [RSVP 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

Free speech lawsuit against Texas university campus carry law continues in federal appeals court

University of Texas professors are taking their challenge to the law allowing guns in classrooms to federal appeals court expected to argue that the guns would create a "chilling effect" on classroom discussion. (KUT 90.5, July 11, 2018, by Matthew Choi of the Texas Tribune) In 2016 a federal district… ∞

Russian efforts to influence press seen in exploitation of trust in local news

The Russian government attacked the U.S. during the 2016 by exploiting public trust in local news by creating Twitter accounts that posed as sources for headlines in hometown newspapers. The accounts used names such as @ElPasoTopNews and @Seattle_Post. The accounts posted credible news to build trust and readership in preparation… ∞

Supreme Court nominee’s stances on First Amendment jibe with those of conservative majority

In Popehat, July 10, 2018, Ken White finds Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's positions on the First Amendment laudable with a few caveats. Kavanaugh has protected speech of protestors and has favored limiting defamation suits in instances to prevent chilling speech. He could be expected to apply First Amendment protections… ∞

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: PRA Requested Documents Withheld Due to “Attorney-Client Privilige”

Q: Cal Fire claims to have released all documents related to a request with the exception of “documents that are protected by attorney-client privilege.” Is there a way to find out what was redacted/withheld? A: It appears that Cal Fire invoked the attorney-client privilege exemption in order to withhold the documents. In general, California law […]

A&A: Is Artist’s Conviction for Pornographic Drawings Legal?

Q: I draw, from my imagination, pornographic scenes that I sometimes distribute to consenting adults. I have been convicted for possessing pornography for having these drawings. Is my conviction legal? A: Visual arts and entertainment constitute protected forms of expression under the First Amendment. See White v. City of Sparks, 500 F.3d 953 (9th Cir. 2007); Ward v. Rock […]

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.” […]

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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