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Coalition News

FAC Joins Nationwide Coalition Condemning Police Attacks on Journalists

FAC June 2, 2020

The First Amendment Coalition signed a letter, along with 115 news and press freedom organizations, submitted today to Minnesota officials by the Reporters Committee to Freedom of the Press, condemning police use of force against journalists covering the protests and civil unrest in response to the police killing of George Floyd.  The letter emphasizes that law enforcement does not have legal immunity when officers violate clearly established rights under the First Amendment. And while the

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California Supreme Court Stops Cities From Charging Steep Fees for Video Redactions

FAC May 28, 2020

The California Supreme Court today issued an opinion preventing government agencies from charging the public for editing and compiling police body camera footage and other electronic records before the records are released. The First Amendment Coalition and the California News Publishers Association filed an amicus brief in the case, National Lawyers Guild v. City of Hayward. We urged the court to find that agencies cannot require members of the public to pay for redaction costs regardless

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How we are battling government secrecy

David Snyder May 21, 2020

A letter from Executive Director David Snyder In response to COVID-19, many government agencies have moved to close off public and press access to their inner workings.  The government’s urgent need to protect public health, however, should not and cannot come at the expense of the public’s right to know. And so FAC is working harder than ever. In the past few months we have: Led a coalition to push back hard against courts that

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FAC, SPJ NorCal Announce Efforts to Protect Press Freedom One Year After Raid on Journalist 

FAC May 12, 2020

One year ago this week, San Francisco police conducted a raid on journalist Bryan Carmody, a widely condemned attack on press freedom and a plain violation of California’s shield law protections. State and federal law protects journalists from having to disclose their sources or any unpublished information collected during newsgathering to the government — and prohibits judges from issuing warrants for the search and seizure of such information.  In the interceding 12 months, many questions

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Leading Constitutional Law Scholar Erwin Chemerinsky Joins FAC Board

FAC May 7, 2020

The First Amendment Coalition today announced the election of Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, to its board of directors. Chemerinsky, regarded as one of the leading constitutional law scholars in the United States, has argued numerous cases, including First Amendment challenges, at the U.S. Supreme Court. He is the author of 11 books, including “We the People: A Progressive Reading of the Constitution for the Twenty-First Century,” “Closing the Courthouse

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