First Amendment News

A federal district judge has ruled that the Bush administration illegally deleted the names of visitors to the White House, erroneously claiming that disclosure would prevent the president from performing his constitutional duties. The text of the ruling is here. – DR Federal judge rules against White House on visitor logs By The Associated Press 01.12.09 WASHINGTON — A federal judge has rejected the Bush administration’s latest attempt to keep secret the identities of White

Ted Kaczynski, the notorious Unabomber, who was imprisoned for the mail bomb killings of three people and injuries to 23 others, has lost his battle to prevent the sale of his original writings. A federal judge had ordered his papers sold to raise money for survivors who sought restitution. Kaczynski argued that his free-speech rights would be violated. According to InformationWeek, a federal appeals court disagreed, saying the government could give him copies of his

Bills passed in the House would overturn President Bush’s executive order extending the length of time presidential records can be sealed and would require disclosure of donors and donations to presidential libraries, according to Real Clear Politics and CNN’s Politics.com. -DR RealClearPolitics Politics Nation Blog January 08, 2009 House Passes First Bills Of The Session The House passed its first two bills of the 111th session yesterday, with both carrying ramifications for the outgoing president.

The SF Supervisors and Mayor Newsom are planning a private party to talk about . . .what exactly? Any talk about city business would put the supervisors in violation of the Brown Act.-PS Sunshine-law advocates cast wary eye at Newsom shindig The Examiner By Joshua Sabatini Published 1/8/09 SAN FRANCISCO – When it comes to the private bash Mayor Gavin Newsom plans to host Friday evening for members of the Board of Supervisors, there may

A Yolo County dentist, on trial on charges of sexual battery with his patients, has dropped his attempt to exclude the press from the courtroom. The dentist’s lawyer, Michael Rothschild, says he was persuaded the requested closure would violate the First Amendment. An interesting aspect of this case is that the prosecutor, siding with a media lawyer representing the Sacramento Bee, opposed the court-closing idea. All too often prosecutors, concerned about avoiding jury prejudice, acquiesce