First Amendment News

In a ruling on a dispute concerning then Alaskan Governor Walter Hickel and members of his policy staff, the court said that states could be sued by employees for violations of their Constitutional rights. -DB Metropolitan News-Enterprise May 4, 2009 States are not immune from claims of employment discrimination and free-speech violations by employees in policymaking positions, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday. Disagreeing with a three-judge panel that ruled in November

The 5th Circuit Court ruled that the Texas Open Meetings law could have violated two city council members’ First Amendment right to engage in private speech. -DB The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press April 30, 2009 By Hannah Bergman In an opinion that could call into question the constitutionality of open meetings laws everywhere, a federal appellate court held Monday that the Texas Open Meetings law must pass a heightened constitutional test under

A PBS blogger concludes that a central online source is the best way to get vital information to a community. Libraries, forums, radio, small town newspapers and local cable TV would all play a role in dispensing the information. -DB MediaShift April 30, 2009 By Mark Glaser Problem: Where can people find the local information they need, whether it’s about a school board meeting, a new construction project or a nearby robbery? Solution: A community

A bill approved by the California Assembly Education Committee would provide transparency in charter school operations to stem financial abuse of public funds. -DB CalAware May 01, 2009 OPEN GOVERNMENT — Charter schools would be subject to the California Public Records Act, their board meetings subject to the Brown Act and their board members required to file public statements of economic interest under the Political Reform Act under a bill approved Wednesday by the Assembly

Former pro-Israel lobbyists saw the U.S. government drop espionage charges against them for conspiring to pass classified information to journalists and Israeli officials. First Amendment advocates feared that the case might chill normal exchange of information between journalists, lobbyists and think-tank analysts. -DB The Washington Post May 1, 2009 By Jerry Markon The U.S. government is abandoning espionage-law charges against two former lobbyists for a pro-Israel advocacy group, federal officials announced this morning. Prosecutors said