Search

Categories

Total Results

No Record Found

View All Results
DONATE

First Amendment News

First Amendment cases: Supreme Court to hear Kansas case of protesters at military funeral

donal brown March 9, 2010

The Supreme Court will hear the case of a Marine father who sued protesters who picketed his son’s funeral with signs reading “God Hates You” land “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.” The picketers were from a Baptist church that believes God hates homosexuality and is punishing the U.S. for tolerating it with the death of soliders in Iraq and Afghanistan. -db The New York Times March 8, 2010 By Adam Liptak WASHINGTON, D.C. — The

Read More »

Time has come for a federal anti-SLAPP law

donal brown March 8, 2010

A lawyer who earns considerable income from defending citizens from Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) says it is time to back a democratic congressman’s bill for a federal anti-SLAPP law to protect citizens’ free speech rights. -db Citizen Media Law Project Opinion March 4, 2010 By Marc J. Randazza Congressman Steve Cohen, D-TN is our First Amendment Bad Ass of the week. Mr. Cohen introduced The Citizen Participation Act, a federal anti-slapp bill. The bill

Read More »

Editorial calls for Placer County District Attorney to enforce state’s open government law

donal brown March 8, 2010

The Auburn Journal argued for tighter enforcement of the Brown Act, California’s open government law, in light of a $l600 dinner meeting in 2008  in Washington D.C. during which three county supervisors lobbied the local congressman. -db Auburn Journal Editorial March 7, 2010 During these tough economic times, government at every level faces media scrutiny. The public has a right to know how elected officials are spending taxpayer dollars. That’s why it’s especially troubling that

Read More »

Turlock school board finds way to defeat intent of state’s open government law

donal brown March 8, 2010

The editor of the Turlock Journal says the local school board did all the right things in listing the agenda in advance, making the meeting accessible to all and allowing ample time for public comment but still managed to trash the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law, by deciding the crucial issues of building renovations and layoffs at the end of the session after most of the crowd left the meeting. -db Turlock Journal Opinion

Read More »

Health board accused of violating California open meeting law in holding closed ‘informational’ sessions

donal brown March 8, 2010

The Del Puerto Health Care board claims that conscientious elected officials are discouraged from serving after they were accused of holding two closed meetings without public notice. -db Patterson Irrigator March 4, 2010 By Kendall Wright In spite of attending training sessions since 2006 about ethics and open-meeting laws, a majority of Del Puerto Health Care board members who were caught on surveillance footage conducting two unannounced meetings in the summer of 2008 still argue that

Read More »