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Coalition News

California Supreme Court: Public Officials Cannot Conceal Emails From Public By Sending From Personal Email Accounts

FAC March 3, 2017

The California Supreme Court ruled on March 2 that emails sent from the personal email accounts of government officials are subject to the California Public Records Act — a significant ruling with a far-reaching, positive impact on the public’s right to know. The unanimous ruling shuts off the government’s ability to conceal information from the public simply by putting information about government business into personal email accounts.   The court held that “communications about official

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Amici Briefs Digest, March 2, 2017

FAC March 2, 2017

FAC has joined, or agreed to join, a number of amicus briefs since December 2016. FAC Joined Amicus Briefs Rand v. City of Carson—Amicus brief to the California Supreme Court urging a broader interpretation of the “public interest” component of California’s anti-SLAPP statute.  At least two competing standards have arisen under California law regarding what constitutes  “public interest” — one far too narrow, and the other more broad.  The amicus brief joined by FAC urges

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Federal Judge Prevents Enforcement of California’s “IMDb Law” on First Amendment Grounds

David Snyder February 23, 2017

A federal judge on February 22 issued a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of a California law that sought to prohibit the publication of the ages of actors, producers and others on the popular internet movie database, IMDb. FAC joined several other free-speech advocacy groups in filing a “friend of the court” brief last month opposing the law on First Amendment grounds. That brief argued the IMDb law ran afoul of the strong First Amendment protections

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Former FAC Executive Director Peter Scheer Awarded Society of Professional Journalists Career Achievement Prize

FAC February 21, 2017

Former First Amendment Coalition executive director Peter Scheer has been named the 2017 recipient of the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists’ career achievement award–a signal honor marking his advocacy, over many years, for free speech, a free press and the public’s right to know. Scheer, 65, will accept the Norwin S. Yoffie Award for Career Achievement on March 22 at the annual James Madison Freedom of Information Awards in San Francisco. Scheer led FAC

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“Hate Speech” and the First Amendment – David Snyder interviewed on KCRW’s Press Play

FAC February 3, 2017

On February 1, the University of California, Berkeley, shut down a speech by the divisive right-wing writer Milo Yiannopoulos after chaos erupted on the school’s campus.  FAC Executive Director David Snyder discussed the First Amendment implications of the incident with host Madeleine Brand on the public-affairs program “Press Play,” KCRW radio in Los Angeles. [su_button url=” http://kcrw.co/2l2xgpl” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#06b2e4″ color=”#0b0707″ wide=”yes” radius=”0″ icon_color=”#ffffff” desc=”(7min. 21sec.)” class=”div { font-size:x-small; }”]Click to Listen[/su_button]

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