First Amendment News

A federal web site — www.usaspending.gov — allows the public to track government contracts and financial assistance. It’s cumbersome, but as Douglas McGray writes in The Atlantic, it includes a feature that opens the door to powerful ways to make the information more accessible. As evidence, McGray shows how the same approach made it possible for Bay Area Rapid Transit District passengers to get train schedules in myriad, convenient ways. How geeks are opening up

Superstar model Liskula Cohen wants to force Mountain View-based Google to reveal the name of a blogger who declared her an over-the-hill “skank” and an “old hag.” The New York Daily News reported that Cohen, vowing to “know who my enemies are,” filed a defamation suit in which she asks the court to compel Google and its subsidiary Blogger.com to identify the anonymous critic. Model Liskula Cohen sues Google over blogger’s ‘skank’ comment BY JOSE

A San Joaquin County judge declares that details of the kidnapping and torture of a Tracy boy are so “incendiary” that the public should be denied access. The potential for “moral judgment and possible outrage” could taint a jury pool, San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Cinda Fox said. Judge won’t unseal findings in case of shackled Stockton teen By Cynthia Hubert chubert@sacbee.com Published: Tuesday, Jan. 06, 2009 | Page 6B STOCKTON – A judge

Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009 Accused dentist wants the media locked out Without citing any legal precedents, the lawyer for a dentist accused of inappropriate touching by more than a dozen female patients has asked the judge to bar the media from his trial. Sacramento Bee Thursday, Jan. 01, 2009 By Hudson Sangree hsangree@sacbee.com A Woodland dentist accused of fondling more than a dozen female patients has asked a judge to bar the media from covering

The Recording Industry Association of America says it will stop suing people who share copyright-protected music and instead try to persuade Internet service providers to block users who ignore repeated warnings. Music industry drops effort to sue song swappers By The Associated Press 12.29.08 LOS ANGELES — The group representing the U.S. recording industry says it has abandoned its policy of suing people for sharing songs protected by copyright and will work with Internet service