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Coalition News

FAC and Local Community Group Sue San Jose Over Secret Negotiations With Google

The First Amendment Coalition (FAC), joined by Working Partnerships USA (WPUSA), today sued the city of San Jose to force the disclosure of secret details of its negotiations to sell valuable public land to Google. The suit, filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court, seeks records under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) relating to the …

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FAC Attorneys Awarded $100k for Public Records Win

A Santa Clara Superior Court judge has awarded nearly $100,000 in attorneys fees to lawyers representing the First Amendment Coalition (FAC) in its successful California Public Records Act lawsuit against the city of Milpitas. Recognizing that FAC’s suit promoted a “significant public interest…in understanding whether high-ranking city officials were acting improperly,” Judge Sunil R. Kulkarni …

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FAC Sues DOJ Over Trump Administration’s Secret Collection of Journalist’s Records

The First Amendment Coalition (FAC) today sued the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to force the department to disclose records relating to the government’s seizure of confidential telephone and email records from New York Times reporter Ali Watkins. The suit, filed today in federal court in San Francisco under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), …

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FAC Seeks Nominations for 2018 Free Speech & Open Government Award

The First Amendment Coalition is soliciting nominees for the FAC Free Speech & Open Government Award, given each year for performance of exemplary work in the arena of open government. Qualifications for the award are outstanding accomplishment, service or other contributions to “the people’s right to know” about government. The winner, or winners, could be …

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FAC Urges Ninth Circuit to Protect Journalists Who Publish Sensitive Government Information

The First Amendment Coalition (FAC) on Friday filed a “friend of court”  brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, urging that court to reverse a federal district court ruling that jeopardizes important First Amendment protections for journalists who publish sensitive or classified government information. The lower court dismissed claims by the ACLU that the …

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FAC Sues San Diego District Attorney’s Office for Sexual Harassment, Misconduct Records

The First Amendment Coalition (FAC) today filed suit against the county of San Diego to force the disclosure of records relating to allegations of sexual misconduct against its District Attorney’s Office. (You can read the filed petition below.) The office has refused to release the records, which clearly must be disclosed under the California Public Records …

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Veteran First Amendment Lawyer Glen A. Smith Named FAC’s First Legal Fellow

The First Amendment Coalition is pleased to announce the appointment of Glen A. Smith, a lawyer with more than 30 years of experience in First Amendment and media law, as the inaugural FAC Legal Fellow. Smith comes to FAC with a deep and widely varied background in media litigation, including substantial experience advocating for public …

Read moreVeteran First Amendment Lawyer Glen A. Smith Named FAC’s First Legal Fellow

Ed Chapuis, Katherine Rowlands and Juliet Williams Join FAC Board of Directors

The First Amendment Coalition is delighted to announce the appointment of three new members to its Board of Directors, all working journalists who have made substantial contributions to their craft and to the cause of government transparency in California and beyond: Ed Chapuis, news director for KGTV-10 in San Diego; Katherine Ann Rowlands, owner of …

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Remembering FAC Founding Father and California Journalism Giant, Frank McCulloch

Frank McCulloch, a giant in California journalism, played an important role in the founding of FAC in 1988. McCulloch was a key editor who helped transition a small Freedom of Information committee, sponsored by the California Newspaper Publishers Association, into an independent organization of journalists, attorneys and FOI/First Amendment experts  who would be serving the general public …

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FAC Partners with MuckRock to Expand Reach of Open Records, Meetings Database

The First Amendment Coalition today announced a new partnership with MuckRock to extend the reach of FAC’s “Asked and Answered” resource, an extensive database of legal expertise on freedom of information laws and the First Amendment. Through the collaboration, users of MuckRock—a nonprofit that provides sophisticated but easy-to-use online tools to help people submit public …

Read moreFAC Partners with MuckRock to Expand Reach of Open Records, Meetings Database