First Amendment News

San Diego Union-Tribune By Greg Moran December 25, 2007 A sharply divided state Supreme Court ruled yesterday that shopping malls can’t ban protesters from calling for boycotts of mall businesses. The 4-3 ruling came in a case dating to 1998 involving the Fashion Valley mall and a labor union representing press workers at The San Diego Union-Tribune. The court majority said that free-speech rights – as interpreted under the state Constitution and a 1979 state

On Monday, Dec. 31, President George Bush signed bipartisan legislation containing the most important amendments to the FOIA in over a decade. The changes expand the definition of who is a “representative of the news media.” This will benefit bloggers and non-traditional journalists by making them eligible for discounted processing and duplication fees that are available to the news media. Other important reforms include: –Broadening the scope of information that can be requested by including

A three-judge panel held that defendants have to make a written request to close a courtroom. Dec. 19, 2007 · The public has a presumptive right of access to criminal courtrooms, and defendants requesting closure of a hearing must make a written motion first, according to a decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco (9th Cir.). While past U.S. Supreme Court and California court precedent require notice before

Ethnic Media Fellowships USC Annenberg’s Institute for Justice and Journalism is inviting ethnic media journalists to apply for immigration-related fellowships. Selected Fellows will participate in a weeklong conference in Tucson, Arizona, that will include field experiences along both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. A follow-up session for the Fellows will be conducted in mid-June at John Jay College in New York City. Click here for complete information and to download the guidelines and application. For