First Amendment News

The New York Times reported that a slew of online firms have sprung up to allow the public easy access to mug shots of arrested citizens. It sounds like an important public service to provide public information except that the firms charge a fee to remove the mugshot. (The New York Times, October 5, 2013, by David Segal) For months Google has been looking for a way to deal with mug shot sites mainly by

The District Attorney has warned the Hart Unified School District in Santa Clarita that they erred in their appointment to the governing board to replace a departing member. The DA said the vote was held in open session but not reported in the meeting’s minutes, a violation of the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law. (SVCNews.com, September 30, 2013, by Perry Smith) The 90 day time limit for submitting a complaint of a Brown

Journalists are taking care to protect their government sources on national security issues from detection by avoiding phone calls and e-mails and electing instead to arrange secret face-to-face meetings reminiscent of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s conversations with “Deep Throat” in an underground parking garage. (The Washington Post, October 4, 2013, by Leonard Downie Jr.) The Centre for Research on Globalization asserts that the Obama administration is the harshest on journalists of any previous administration.

The government shutdown prompted agencies to suspend processing Freedom of Information Act requests. Some are not even accepting requests while journalists seeking information from others can expect long delays. (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, October 3, 2013, by Emily Grannis) Journalists covering current issues such as health care and the shutdown are blocked from obtaining data essential to informing the public. For instance, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will not have the staff

The U.S. Supreme Court announced its docket for the term beginning October 7 that included First Amendment cases, one contesting whether prayers before town council meetings are allowed and a Massachusetts law restricting protesters at abortion clinics. The court will also revisit the issue of limits on campaign contribution caps for individuals. In its Citizens United decision the court ruled that corporations, unions and associations had a First Amendment right to make unlimited contributions. (The