First Amendment News

A San Diego County supervisor won a federal court ruling in a suit brought by billionaire Sam Zell who owns the media conglomerate Tribune Co. as well as a number of mobile-home parks. Zell sued the supervisor for making statements critical of his raising rents in three of his parks. -DB The Union-Tribune March 20, 2009 By Greg Moran FEDERAL COURT — A federal judge has again ruled in favor of the county and Supervisor

Two open government groups released a joint report to promote open government policies now under review by the new administration. The report included recommendations for making government more transparent. –DB Center for Democracy & Technology OpenTheGovernment.org March 20, 2009 Press Release Washington, D.C. – The Center for Democracy & Technology and OpenTheGovernment.org today released “Show Us The Data: The Most Wanted Government Documents,” a joint report based on an interactive, user-driven search to identify the

Attorney General Eric Holder issued a memorandum advising the executive branch to presume that government records are public. The Bush administration had a poor record in observing the Freedom of Information Act. -DB Reporter Committee for Freedom of the Press March 19, 2009 By Lucy Dalglish Attorney General Eric Holder issued his much-anticipated memorandum today advising executive branch agencies how the Obama Administration wants the federal Freedom of Information Act to be interpreted. In it,

The Tri-city Medical Center conducted a three-week-long investigation of eight hospital administrators without releasing a report. With the eight garnering budget-straining paid leave for three months, the community wants to know if the investigation unearthed evidence of poor performance. -DB North County Times March 21, 2009 By Paul Sisson OCEANSIDE – The Tri-City Medical Center board has spent several hours in a series of closed-session meetings over the last three weeks, but has released no

Journalists and bloggers are concerned about the recent decision of the First Circuit court attacking the precept that the truth is not an absolute defense in a libel suit. -DB Citizen Media Law Project March 18, 2009 By Sam Bayard The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued an order today denying Staples’ petition for rehearing en banc in Noonan v. Staples, a decision in which a panel of the First Circuit