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Oregon newspaper subpoenaed after records request

FAC March 3, 2011

A reporter for the Bend Bulletin newspaper in central Oregon has been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury after county employees responded to her public records request, failing in some instances to redact personal information such as telephone and drivers license numbers. The Deschutes County district attorney also is investigating county employees, saying that he wants to know whether sensitive information was released intentionally. The Bulletin’s request for employee records was prompted after the

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Traveling with a laptop: Do your privacy rights end at the border?

FAC February 22, 2011

Your laptop computer and smart phone carry a picture of your digital life: browsing history, pictures, personal files, e-mail. According to the New York Times, U.S. Border Patrol agents find such devices to be a trove of information in their quest to unveil criminal activity. But at what point do these electronic inspections cross the line from valid crime-fighting tool to violation of Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure? The American Civil Liberties

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A&A: Can new board members ask for past closed session update?

FAC February 20, 2011

Q: I am a newly elected school board member. Our upcoming agenda will contain a closed session item that has also been discussed in closed session prior to my appointment. Can I ask the staff and board members who participated in the prior closed session to divulge what was discussed then? A: As you may know, the Brown Act provides that “[a] person may not disclose confidential information that has been acquired by being present

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Berkeley’s new sunshine rules: a step forward or a detour?

FAC February 19, 2011

The city of Berkeley has adopted an ordinance that expands access to documents, expands live streaming of meetings and bars confidential legal settlements. But, according to the local Web site Berkeleyside, it also has potential to weaken support for a more far-reaching sunshine ordinance schedule for a public vote in November 2012. The city ordinance, adopted Tuesday, would create an advisory commission that would seek voluntary agreements over open government disputes. By contrast, the much

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Court: Cops had right to restrict news photographer

FAC February 18, 2011

An Oakland Tribune photographer had no more right than any other citizen to stop his car on the freeway to take pictures of an accident, a federal appeals court ruled. The photographer, Ray Chavez, sued after police handcuffed him for refusing to leave the accident scene on Interstate 880 in Oakland. His lawyer argued that the court had misinterpreted the evidence and that Chavez was arrested for taking pictures of the wreck, which he had

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