FAC

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 provides that confidential communications between a lawyer and his or her client are privileged and do not have to be

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 Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781,790 (1989).  However, there are limits to the First Amendment, and distributing obscene material does not

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.”  As a general matter, such “hate speech” is protected under the First Amendment—however, there are limited categories of speech that