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donal brown

Police review board findings kept secret

donal brown October 5, 2009

An opinion piece in the Redding Record Searchlight suggests that a state law opening the reports of police review boards to the public would actually reduce suspicion and distrust of police departments and enhance their reputations. -DB Redding Record Searchlight Opinion October 1, 2009 The greatest benefit of such a panel: It would open a window onto the rarely seen world of police departments’ disciplinary proceedings. But that window is nailed shut. A 2006 state

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Supreme Court upholds lower court order for release of priest child abuse records

donal brown October 5, 2009

The Bridgeport, Connecticut Roman Catholic Diocese may be nearing the end of its seven-year long fight to keep sealed over 12,000 pages of records concerning priests’ sexual abuse of children as the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a court order to release the files. –DB The New York Times October 5, 2009 By Paul Vitello The United States Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport to

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Los Angeles D.A. says Brown Act effective deterrent

donal brown October 5, 2009

Los Angeles County District Attorney staff members say they enforce the Brown Act aggressively but seek compliance rather punishment and has only had to bring two civil suits to enforce the act in the last eight years. They urge public officials to embrace the act rather than treat it as an obstacle. -DB Metropolitan News-Enterprise October 2, 2009 By Kenneth Ofgang The District Attorney’s Office aggressively enforces the state’s open meetings law for local public agencies with

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Obama administration wants national security exemption in federal shield law

donal brown October 2, 2009

The Obama administration wants the federal shield law now in Congress to force reporters to disclose confidential sources who leak national security information. -DB The New York Times October 1, 2009 By Charlie Savage WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Obama administration has told lawmakers that it opposes legislation that could protect reporters from being imprisoned if they refuse to disclose confidential sources who leak material about national security, according to several people involved with the negotiations. The

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First Amendment advocates criticize draft of new rules granting access to judicial records

donal brown October 2, 2009

Senate Bill X4 13 required that the California Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) adopt new policies to provide public access to nonadjudicative court records, budget and management information. A 19-page draft has now been released for public comment from the present until October 29. So far First Amendment defenders say there should be no charge for providing documents and that the draft provides an overbroad exemption of “deliberative process” that would too easily block

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