First Amendment News

Admiral Dennis C. Blair, the nominee for Director of National Intelligence, said that too much information is being withheld from the public. He also pledged to use secrecy only to protect the public rather than manipulate public opinion. -DB The Space Review (as reprinted in Secrecy News of the Federation of American Scientists) Jan. 26, 2009 By Dwayne Day “There is a great deal of over-classification,” admitted Adm. Dennis C. Blair, the nominee to be

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the autopsy report for a murdered Easton police office was a matter of public record. Two newspapers, the Morning Call of Allentown and The Express-Times of Easton, had sued the county coroner for withholding the record in February of 2006. –DB The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Jan 23, 2009 By Ahnalese Rushmann In a significant public records victory for two state newspapers, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court

A marijuana advocacy group claims that in compliance with the Brown Act, the San Diego County supervisors should have announced their Aug. 26 closed-door decision to appeal a ruling on i.d. cards for medical marijuana patients to the Supreme Court. The supervisors said they had already gone on record in 2006 with their intent to appeal to the highest court should it be necessary. -DB The Sun Jan. 22, 2009 By Joe Nelson SAN BERNARDINO

Tulare County supervisors voted pay raises for themselves and other county officials last September, but residents had no way to know what the board was up to. The agenda for the Sept. 30 meeting said merely that supervisors were considering “some changes” for employees. The decision wasn’t announced until January. In a Jan. 23 story, The Visalia Times-Delta said that “(b)y voting to raise the elected officials’ pay, the supervisors triggered a pay raise for

The failure of the Victorville City Council to conduct business in the open and to release full details of votes in closed sessions has raised questions about their commitment to open government. –DB High Desert Daily Press January 24, 2009 By Brooke Edwards Right or wrong, there seems to be a common perception that Victorville City Hall is trying to pull a fast one — a perception Jim Cox was well aware of when I