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First Amendment News

Los Angeles: Employee union accuses district attorney of libel

donal brown March 10, 2010

The Association of Deputy District Attorneys accused the Los Angeles district attorney of committing libel in a newsletter that criticized the association. The accusation is part of an ongoing dispute over the district attorney’s alleged union-busting tactics. -db Metropolitan News-Enterprise March 10, 2010 By Sherri M. Okamoto The Association of Deputy District Attorneys yesterday sent a missive to its members accusing Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley of misrepresenting the ongoing dispute between his administration

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Federal courts rule out broadcast of closing arguments in California same-sex marriage trial

donal brown March 10, 2010

A federal court will not include California’s same-sex marriage trial in its pilot program to broadcast civil proceedings contrary to recent media reports. -db The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press March 9, 2010 By Curry Andrews A federal court in San Francisco announced on Friday that it is not planning to broadcast closing arguments in the trial over California’s gay marriage ban, despite media reports to the contrary. As of now, Judge Vaughn

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California State Assembly Speaker bans texting in session

donal brown March 9, 2010

The new California Assembly Speaker has banned text messaging on the assembly floor prompting skepticism from First Amendment advocates that the ban is enforceable or efficacious. -db CivSource Commentary March 9, 2010 By Bailey McCann Last week, when John A. Perez became California’s new Assembly Speaker a point in his opening speech caught our eye — a new rule limiting text messaging on the Assembly floor. The rule will stop text messages from lobbyists from

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California: Decision in favor of disclosure in kidnapping case adds starch to publics’ right to government records

donal brown March 9, 2010

A Superior Court  judge strengthened the Public Records Act by ruling that the press and the public had the right to access government records to answer questions about why parole officers did not check on registered sex offender Philip Garrido who had kidnapped a 12-year-old girl and held her captive for 18 years. -db Contra Costa Times Commentary March 8, 2010 By Thomas Peele More than five years ago California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 59,

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Anonymous speech: Federal court protects identities of posters on news website

donal brown March 9, 2010

A Pennsylvania federal court will not allow a man suing in an employment discrimination case to discover the identities of those making posts on a new website. The man wanted the identities to discredit the testimony of those who fired him. -db Citizen Media Law Project Commentary March 8, 2010 By Sam Bayard Thomas O’Toole at TechLaw points us to an anonymous speech decision issued last week by a federal court in Pennsylvania. In McVicker

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