Courthouse News Service January 4,2011 By Barbara Leonard NEW YORK – A federal appellate court ruled that ABC does not have to pay a $1.2 million fine for an episode of “NYPD Blue” that showed a woman’s bare buttocks for about seven seconds. The court said the policy of the Federal Commications Commission was “unconstitutionally vague.” -db
Q: Does the California Board of Equalization have any special exemptions or dispensations from the California public records act or public access to documents it archives? A: In reviewing the Public Records Act, I do not see any specific exemption that applies to records maintained by the Board of Equalization. Depending on the type of record that you seek, there may be some exemption that applies. For example, the attorney general has opined that “The
In contrast to other federal judges, a U.S. district judge in Virginia ruled the Stolen Valor Act applied only to “outright lies” intended to deceive and so was not protected by the First Amendment. -db First Amendment Center January 6, 2011 By David L. Hudson Jr. The Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a federal crime to make false statements about military medals, does not violate the First Amendment, a federal judge in Virginia has
In response to recent breaches in security and WikiLeak’s release of classified documents, the Obama administration has issued a memorandum calling for government agencies to assess their information policies and tighten security. -db Secrecy News Commentary January 4, 2011 By Steven Aftergood The Obama Administration is moving to increase the security of classified information in response to the massive leaks of classified documents to Wikileaks in recent months. The White House Office of Management and
The Recorder, San Francisco’s legal newspaper, is reporting that California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno has submitted his resignation from the state’s highest court. Moreno, appointed in 1992, is considered one of the more liberal members of the Court. He is also the Court’s only Hispanic Justice. Moreno, 62, succeeded Justice Stanley Mosk. He was interviewed by Obama Administration lawyers for the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy that ultimately was filled by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The