First Amendment News

Responding to public outcry, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood rejected the Federal Aviation Administration’s proposal to keep bird strikes on airplanes secret. The decision comes after geese brought down a US Airways airplane on the Hudson River in January. -DB The Washington Post April 23, 2009 By Lois Romano Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood yesterday rejected a proposal by the Federal Aviation Administration to keep reports about bird strikes on airplanes secret. The FAA quietly posted the

The Supreme Court could add depictions of animal cruelty to the list of First Amendment exclusions as it grapples with the thorny problem of drawing a line between harmful and legitimate expressions. -DB First Amendment Center April 21, 2009 By Tony Mauro Analysis WASHINGTON, D.C. — The stage is set for the Supreme Court to add depictions of animal cruelty to the list of forms of expression that are not entitled to First Amendment protection.

The City of Salinas did not violate any campaign laws in listing projects and services that could be terminated or curtailed if a tax-cutting ballot measure is approved, the California Supreme Court ruled.–DB Metropolitan News-Enterprise April 21, 2009 By Kenneth Ofgang A public entity does not engage in illegal campaign activity by disseminating a list of projects and services that will be curtailed or eliminated if a tax-cutting ballot measure is approved, the California Supreme

A state assembly hearing is scheduled for April 27 on a bill to allow courts to order ‘abusive” or “harassing” requestors from using the California Public Records Act to obtain documents. -DB CalAware April 20, 2009 Attorney General Jerry Brown’s Department of Justice is sponsoring a bill, opposed by Californians Aware and the California Newspaper Publishers Association (CNPA), to allow courts to order “abusive” or “harassing” requestors to stop requesting using the California Public Records

An advocate for open and accountable government writing in a Glen Falls, New York newspaper won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing, edging out entries from the Chicago Tribune and The Washington Post. -DB The Post-Star April 21, 2009 Staff report Mark Mahoney, The Post-Star’s editorial page editor, has won the editorial writing category of the 2009 Pulitzer Prizes, journalism’s top honors. The national contest annually recognizes the best reporting and writing published in