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Coalition News

FAC Joins Coalition Urging SF Mayor to Restore Rights Under Sunshine Ordinance

FAC April 20, 2020

FAC joined a coalition of media and transparency groups urging San Francisco Mayor London Breed to restore all aspects of the city’s open-government ordinance, parts of which she suspended after the city declared an emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic. The letter to Mayor Breed sent Friday, April 17 by the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and a group of local and national organizations comes after the city suspended — indefinitely

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California appeals court overturns sealing of alleged libel

donal brown April 16, 2020

The Electron Frontier Foundation and the First Amendment Coalition achieved a victory in Fargo v. Tejas, when the California Court of Appeal overturned the sealing of the alleged libel. Fargo sued Tejas for posting on Instagram a number of statements allegedly defamatory and subjecting Fargo to contempt and ridicule. A trial court ruled for Fargo and granted a request to seal. FAC and EFF lost a bid to unseal in the trial court and appealed

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Victory: California Appeal Court Orders Records Unsealed

FAC April 15, 2020

A California appeal court today issued an important opinion affirming the public’s right of access to court records.  The Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles sided with FAC and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, finding that records in a civil case had been improperly hidden from the public. A unanimous three-judge panel cited the common law and constitutional right of access to judicial records, and found the superior court failed to make the appropriate

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California cities want public records act suspended

donal brown April 1, 2020

The League of California Cities asked California Governor Gavin Newsom to suspend open record laws that allow citizens to see how the government spends their money. The league, representing nearly 500 cities, wants to shunt the California Public Records Act requiring public bodies to provide information within 10 days. The league says they do not want to stop filling all records requests but to be granted the flexibility to respond given reduced staffing and closed

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FAC, SPJ NorCal Release Template for Requesters Facing Delayed Access

FAC March 27, 2020

FAC and the Freedom of Information Committee of the Society of Professional Journalists Northern California chapter today published a new tool to help overcome barriers to public information. Some state and local entities in California have stopped responding to requests made under the Public Records Act citing the COVID-19 health emergency. The following is a template that journalists and members of the public can use to generate a response to any entity in California that

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