First Amendment News

The California Supreme Court sided ABC10 in ordering the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to justify in a court its reasons for not releasing e-mails between its director and Governor Gavin Newsom’s staff. The e-mails exchanged as the CUPC and Newsom worked out a plan to allow PG&E to enter bankruptcy and pay less in penalties for its criminal acts. (ABC10, October 21, 2021, by Brandon Rittiman) For related FAC coverage, click here and here.

A federal judge ordered the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to cough up documents it withheld in 2017 to hide its efforts to reveal the identity of a Trump critic. The CBP asked Twitter for records of a citizen criticizing then President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Twitter forced the agency to drop its request, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed for records relating to the CBP action. (Reclaim the Net,

Jewish groups are asking the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for a rehearing of a case aiming to block protesters at a synagogue in Ann Arbor. The protesters have been a fixture at the synagogue since 2003 raising signs with slogans including “Jewish Power Corrupts” and “No More Holocaust Movies.” The groups said the protesters used “epithets” and “fighting words” that could lead to violence, vandalism, injury and death. (Jewish Journal, October 15, 2021,

Former President Donald Trump is suing a House committee and the National Archives to prevent the release of White House records related to the January 6 insurrection. The delaying tactic would require the Archives to identify all relevant documents for review by Trump lawyers before sending them to Congress. Trump claims the request for records is overly broad, a fishing expedition, and therefore unconstitutional and also that there is no legitimate legislative purpose for the

The Guardian’s chief lawyer says that the rich don’t like exposure in the press and spend lavishly on lawyers who often lie and wage dirty fights. It behooves reporters to work with legal counsel to insure that each story is accurate. (The Guardian, October 11, 2021, by Gill Phillips) The technology surveillance company Shotspotter is suing Vice for $300 million for a series of articles critical of the company’s practices and effectiveness. The articles claimed