The First Amendment Coalition offers an incredibly useful and FREE legal consultation service. FAC’s Legal Hotline, available on our website, is staffed by top media lawyers who will answer your questions about freedom-of-information, open-meeting laws, First Amendment protections for journalists, bloggers and ordinary citizens, and other open-government issues.
I’m writing because FAC wants you to use this completely FREE service. FAC is a nonprofit. Our Legal Hotline service is made possible by grants from the McCormick, Knight, CS and Central Valley Foundations, as well as individuals who contribute generously to FAC.
When a government agency refuses to disclose public records, or a city council deliberates secretly on issues that should be aired in public, or a police officer forbids the videotaping of an arrest, you are not powerless. Use the free Hotline service on FAC’s website for an expert analysis of your issue and to find our what your options are. If the matter is urgent, you can call us directly (at 415.460.5060).
Here are some examples of recent questions submitted to the Hotline and the answers given by FAC’s lawyers at Holmes Roberts & Owen (a national law firm with offices in San Francisco):
- Are emails between elected officials public records?
- Do open-meeting laws bar a candidates’ forum?
- Can local governments negotiate with unions in secret?
You’ll also find a searchable archive of more than 1,000 authoritative answers by FAC’s lawyers responding to previous Hotline users. This feature, called Asked & Answered, is a vital legal resource that you can consult again and again.
The Legal Hotline is not new. We’ve provided the public with answers to access law questions for more than 20 years. But the need today is greater than ever. Financially-strapped news organizations are no longer able to dispatch lawyers to vindicate the “people’s right to know.” The role of the Hotline is to legally empower citizens and journalists of all kinds to stand as a counterweight to government secrecy.
To make a long story short, we want you to take advantage of us, to pick the brains of our First Amendment experts, and, armed with a better understanding of your legal rights (and citations to relevant legal authorities), to push back effectively against recalcitrant government officials.
FAC is an advocate for free speech and access to government, but to succeed we have to connect our know-how with your need-to-know. So, use our free Hotline service.
3 Comments
I have CADASIL, a genetic progressive condition that shows up mostly as brain dysfunction. I tape record or audio-tape all doctor/lawyer visits, and lots of other settings. I need this due to Central Auditory Processing Disorder and short-term memory loss. I will get worse, not better. Question: is there any circumstance a disabled person can be prosecuted for using this type of recording in accommodation of a disability? And if necessary, can it be used as evidence regardless due to my memory deficits? I am not in the general category here because the Americans with Disabilities Act comes into play.
I work at the Albuquerque airport, an have for four years. A few days ago we were presented with a “contract” from TSA that is to allow TSA to pass our personal information on to a third party, Designated Aviation Channelers(DSA), Who in turn may at their disgresion pass this information on to ANOTHER “customer”. This contract was “voluntary, however if you do not provide your SSN or any other information requested,” our badges may be deactivated. What is voluntary about this? TSA has our copies of our birth certificates, fingerprints, drivers licenses, Social security number. At first, we were told we could not even make a copy of the contract we were signing. I find this all very disturbing, and cannot find any information about what is happening here. Can you help?
I am petitioning on various petitions in California and was told by the Devonshire police that they would arrest me for trespassing on Targets property. I thought that first amendment rights are protected even on private property in the state of California. If that is the case then my rights were violated. Can you let me know the current case law. Thank you.
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