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Asked & Answered

A&A: Do US firms working abroad uphold the First Amendment?

FAC October 12, 2010

Q: Does a U.S. Corporation have a legal responsibility to respect the First Amendment while working in a foreign country? Is it outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. President to prosecute corporate First Amendment offenders working in a foreign country? A: As a very general matter, the laws of the United States — including the First Amendment — would not necessarily apply outside the United States. There are a great many factors that could affect

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A&A: Is a cornoner’s report a public document?

FAC October 12, 2010

Q: It’s my understanding that coroners’ reports are public documents. However, I need to know chapter and verse what parts are or are not public so I can prove my case to  the coroner. Where does it say they are open? What law? What court decision? A: As you probably know, the general rule is that any document collected, owned, or maintained by a state or local agency are public records for the purposes of

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A&A: Agency missed CPRA request deadline

FAC October 11, 2010

Q: On August 18, 2010, I submitted a public records request. I received a response stating that they will take 60-90 days to provide the records. In GC 6250 …an extension can only be for 14 days. What do I do now? Who would I contact regarding this non-compliance? A: You are correct that California’s Public Records Act provides that records must be made available for inspection during an agency’s office hours and that copies

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A&A: Accessing police Internal Affairs reports

FAC September 20, 2010

Q: I often work with women who have been abused by police officers, often sparking internal affairs investigations into the officer. We have never been able to get any info on the IA beyond “founded” or “unfounded.” I was just alerted to Cal Govt Code 6254.7, which seems to indicate the victim has a right to all witness statements, etc. This seems to good to be true. What’s the catch? A: Government Code Section 6254.7,

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A&A: Are emails sent to elected officials private or public?

FAC September 17, 2010

Q: Are e-mails sent by residents to the council or other government entities (GE) concerning a hot button issue considered public records? Or are they somehow protected by the ”right to privacy” and beyond public scrutiny? In this case, the GE itself asked residents to send the e-mails and is making policy decisions based on the e-mails. I guess it would seem there could be potential for abuse of the “system” if there were a

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