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First Amendment News

Federal transparency: Changes in administration raise questions

donal brown August 17, 2010

Transparency advocates are wondering if recent changes in Obama administration management mean that Obama is stepping back from his commitment to open government. -db NextGov August 16, 2010 By Aliya Sternstein As the Obama administration gently pushes agencies to follow their transparency plans, recent changes in key management positions at the White House have watchdog groups concerned the open government initiative could lose steam. The administration on Thursday scored agencies according to an online dashboard that

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Free speech: Federal judge strikes down laws restricting protests near funerals

donal brown August 17, 2010

A federal district judge ruled that two 2006 laws regulating protests near funerals violated the First Amendment. -db Kansas City Star Aug. 16, 2010 By Mark Morris Missouri’s laws restricting protests near funerals are unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Monday. The ruling from Chief U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan found that two 2006 laws that sought to regulate such protests violated First Amendment free-speech rights. Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps,

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Free speech: Blogger convicted of threatening judges with violence

donal brown August 16, 2010

A federal court jury found a blogger had overreached in urging his readers to kill three judges of a federal appeals court for upholding a Chicago handgun ban. -db Wired August 16, 2010 By David Kravets Three trials later, authorities have finally won a criminal conviction against Hal Turner, the New Jersey hate blogger charged with threatening to kill federal appeals court judges. Turner was convicted in federal court in Brooklyn on Friday of threatening

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Free speech: California court rules mall’s restrictions on conversations with strangers unconstitutional

donal brown August 16, 2010

A state appeals court ruled that a Roseville, California shopping mall could not prevent a Christian pastor from talking about religion with three young women. -db Metropolitan News-Enterprise August 13, 2010 By Steven M. Ellis The Third District Court of Appeal has revived a Christian youth pastor’s suit against a Placer County shopping mall that had him arrested when he declined to stop talking about his faith with three young women. The court on Wednesday held

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Open government: Pasadena creates secret review boards to advise police chief

donal brown August 16, 2010

Legal experts say that California’s open meetings law does not allow cities to create secret advisory committees not open to the public. -db Pasadena Star-News August 14, 2010 By Brenda Gazzar PASADENA – Open government advocates said city officials should release the names of members of two secret review boards that advise the police chief. At least one expert also argued that the panels should convene in conformity with state open meeting laws. Police Chief

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