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Water district, in settlement with FAC, agrees to disclose water usage by corporations

Peter Scheer October 30, 2014

A Southern California water district, as part of a settlement of a lawsuit brought by the First Amendment Coalition, has agreed to tell the public how much water each of its corporate customers is pumping from underground aquifers. The Desert Water Agency in Palm Springs had published this information in past years, but changed policy in 2013, ostensibly to protect the “privacy interests” of its corporate customers. The water district relied on section 6254.16 of

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FAC sues Palm Springs water agencies for data on water use by corporate customers

FAC August 15, 2014

The First Amendment Coalition has filed a CPRA suit against two government water agencies in the Palm Springs area to compel them to make public water usage data, by customer name, for each of their biggest corporate customers. The agencies, Coachella Valley Water District and the Desert Water Agency, have published this information in past years, with golf courses and country clubs dominating the lists of biggest water users. But this year, in the midst

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Federal Judge rules in FAC case: US can keep secret a legal memo on drone strikes targeting US citizen

FAC April 15, 2014

In a national security case brought by the First Amendment Coalition, a federal judge has ruled that the Obama administration does not have to disclose a Justice Department legal memo explaining the legal rationale for drone strikes and, in particular, drone strikes abroad against suspected terrorists who are also US citizens. FAC’s suit, based on federal FOIA, was filed shortly after a September2011 drone strike in Yemen that killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born Muslim cleric

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In settlement with FAC, LA County Jail releases inmate visitor log, agrees to relax secrecy rule

Peter Scheer December 5, 2013

SCHEER–As part of a legal settlement with the First Amendment Coalition, the Los Angeles County Jail has agreed to pull back its veil of secrecy on the identities of persons who visit incarcerated public officials. The jail’s prior policy had been to withhold—on grounds of privacy-protection–the names of visitors to all jail inmates. Going forward, the state’s biggest jail will apply a “presumption” of access when the requests (made under the Public Records Act) relate

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Supreme Court to hold oral argument in FAC case this Wednesday at Boalt Hall. Be there!

Peter Scheer October 7, 2013

Have a few hours to spare this Wednesday, Oct. 9? The California Supreme Court will hear arguments in FAC’s lawsuit against the State Bar (Case No. S194951), starting at 10am. The hearing is being held, not at the Court’s courtroom, but at the UC Berkeley School of Law, Room 215, Boalt Hall. FAC Board member James Chadwick is arguing for FAC. FAC’s co-plaintiff, UCLA Professor Richard Sander, will be represented by LA attorney Jean-Paul Jassy

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